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A recent audit of the city of Gonzales found multiple weaknesses in internal controls and instances of noncompliance with state law, including more than $1.6 million in public works spending that lacked documentation showing adherence to Louisiana’s public bid requirements.
The audit, which was conducted by Ericksen Krentel and covers the fiscal year ending May 31, 2025, issued an unmodified opinion on the city’s financial statements, meaning auditors found they were fairly presented in all material respects.
But that clean opinion was accompanied by a series of problematic findings, the most notable of which involved the city’s handling of public works contracts.
Under state law, public entities are generally required to publicly advertise projects and award contracts to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder when costs exceed $250,000.
Gonzales incurred roughly $1.66 million in costs across four projects that exceeded the state’s bid threshold but could not provide documentation demonstrating compliance with Louisiana’s public bid law.
Auditors also found one instance in which payments for a project were split across multiple invoices to the same vendor. When combined, those payments exceeded the bid threshold, but the city could not show the work had been competitively bid as required.
The audit also noted the city did not maintain documentation supporting its evaluation of contractor qualifications prior to awarding work.
Mayor Tim Riley shared the following statement with Daily Report:
“My administration came into office with concerns about the city’s past failure to adhere to public bid law and accounting best practices in January 2025. Ericksen Krentel’s recent audit, several months in the making, confirmed our worst suspicions. One of the public works projects in violation of public bid law resulted in a criminal referral by the licensing board to local authorities. My administration takes these violations very seriously and we will fully cooperate with any investigative efforts aimed at final resolution. We appreciate Ericksen Krentel’s thorough audit to unearth deficiencies in city governance present for years if not decades. We do wonder why previous audits failed to identify these shortcomings which have been allowed to continue for too long. All recommendations have been or will be implemented in short order.”
The procurement issue was one of three material weaknesses and one of three instances of noncompliance with state law flagged by auditors. The other weaknesses involved credit card purchases and gas utility billing, while the other instances of noncompliance involved budget law violations and the city’s failure to adopt next year’s general fund budget on time.
In its response to auditors, the city vowed to address all of the issues flagged.
Beyond the findings, the audit shows the city’s overall financial position improved during the year. Gonzales reported a total net position of roughly $103.7 million, an increase of about $7.2 million from the year prior.
