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Auditor: parish finances in healthy position despite four agreed‑upon procedure exceptions; justice of the peace announces resignation
Summary
An independent auditor gave the parish an unmodified opinion and reported a net position increase, while flagging four narrowly defined exceptions in agreed‑upon procedures; Justice of the Peace Justin Mendoza announced his resignation and the parish president signaled a CAO recommendation for Randall Dunn next month. Council also introduced capital budget amendments and set a public hearing for Aug. 18, 2026.
The council received an independent auditor's report July 15 that gave Iberville Parish an unmodified (clean) opinion on its financial statements and noted material improvements in net position, while identifying four limited exceptions in the agreed‑upon procedures (AUPs).
Margaret Pritchett of Baxley & Associates told the council total assets rose to about $308 million, an increase of roughly $14.4 million over the prior year, and that the parish reported a change in net position of about $16.97 million. She said there were no audit findings, but listed four AUP exceptions: written policies and procedures that omit some contracting/ethics monitoring language; delays in deposit timing in a small sample (deposits ranging from six to 46 days for the tested items); lack of dual‑control evidence on some utility disbursements and electronic disbursements showing a single authorized signature where the parish policy requires two; and missing documentation for annual harassment training for a small sample of employees. Pritchett pointed council members to specific pages and notes in the audit report for the underlying evidence and said the sample sizes were small and specific to the AUP testing scope.
"Your financial statements are not materially misstated," Pritchett said, noting that the independent auditors' opinion is unmodified. She offered to answer additional questions and provided contact details for follow‑up.
Separately, Justin Mendoza, who identified himself as a long‑serving Justice of the Peace, announced he will resign by the end of the month and explained that the Louisiana Supreme Court will appoint an interim replacement until an election is held. The parish president thanked Mendoza for his service.
In administrative business, the council approved minutes for prior meetings and introduced an ordinance to amend the 2026 capital improvement and general fund budgets to provide additional appropriations for two capital projects: the Erieville Museum building renovation and street lighting in the St. Louis subdivision. The council set a public hearing on the budget amendment and capital projects for Aug. 18, 2026. A separate resolution evidencing public approval for bonds pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code was also approved.
The audit report and the budget amendments are available in the council packet; the auditor cited page numbers and notes (for example, note f and pages 58–59) where members can find details on outstanding debt and other items.
Provenance: audit presentation and Q&A begin with the auditor's remarks and continue through council questions (audit: SEG 238–SEG 590); Mendoza's resignation appears at SEG 138–SEG 196; budget amendment introduction and public hearing scheduling appear at SEG 1759–SEG 1796.
