SMCC member Prosper concerned about city’s financial transactions

Published 10:00 am Friday, March 29, 2019

ST. MARTINVILLE — City officials are growing concerned as basic financial transactions appear to be going awry under the administration of Mayor Melinda Mitchell’s choice for the city’s chief administrative officer.

District 2 Councilman Craig Prosper said he had a discussion Wednesday with CAO Shedrick Berard about a deposit of $18,000 in LACE funds, basically fines from tickets off-duty Louisiana State Troopers write to help the city with its traffic enforcement. That deposit was supposed to have been made on Feb. 20. According to Prosper, Berard did not know where the funds were.

When interviewed about the deposit on Thursday afternoon, Berard said it was the first time anyone had brought the issue up.

“This is the first time, today, I have heard about that,” Berard said. “We made another deposit in March, and I know it went in. I think Kim (Duplechin, the town’s account specialist) made that one in February.”

Duplechin has been on leave since mid-February.

When called for confirmation of his previous comments, Prosper laughed.

“Well, I had a 15-minute conversation with him (Berard) about the missing February deposit Wednesday,” Prosper said. 

Berard was hired for the CAO job in November against the recommendation of the city’s independent auditor, who had vetted the resumes of candidates for the position. 

Other questions have been raised in recent weeks about the accuracy of the town’s accounting and bookkeeping since Berard took the CAO position. A DARE program graduation for students who completed the drug abuse resistance education course in December is still on hold because more than $11,000 in grant funds cannot yet be accounted for.

When asked about those funds, Berard again pointed to Duplechin.

“I think Kim handled that,” he said from behind his desk, which was covered in a dizzying array  of papers, memos and other documents. 

The issues with the town’s accounts came to light four weeks ago after a payroll deposit was made that was not adequate to cover some employees’ overtime checks. The same thing happened during the subsequent payroll, with additional payroll errors to boot. 

Employees from two other municipalities, Abbeville and then Breaux Bridge, had come to St. Martinville to help in Duplechin’s absence. Berard said that the city has temporary employees now assisting.

At the city council’s meeting on March 18, the payroll issues were discussed. Berard promised that there would be no issues with this week’s payroll.

Berard was hired on a probationary basis, to be evaluated after the city’s annual audit is complete later in the spring.