Accountant reveals Town of Mamou turned projected deficit into surplus

By: NICK JAGNEAUX
Staff Reporter

MAMOU - At its regular monthly meeting, certified public accountant Burton Kolder gave the Town of Mamou effusive praise during a review of the audit report for the year ending Dec. 31, 2014.
“It’s very good to be able to report this to you,” Kolder told the Town Council. He said the budget is “very healthy” and the Town “is in good shape.”
Among the specific line items, Kolder pointed out that after projecting a deficit of $165,000, the Town actually returned a $52,000 surplus in the audited tax year.
In addition, the Town is showing about $2 million in unrestricted cash equity.
The Council approved two action items. It adopted an ordinance to create a four-way stop at the intersection of Ninth and Pecan streets. The ordinance will take effect starting Aug. 21.
It also authorized Mayor Ricky Fontenot to enter into contract agreement to use CivicSource software for the sale of adjudicated property. Currently the Town has three pieces of adjudicated property that it is considering putting up for sale.
During a presentation on the topic, Bryan Barrios, chief executive officer of Archon Information Systems, explained that CivicSource would allow his company to handle the entire complicated process of selling adjudicated property. Archon Information Systems developed the proprietary CivicSource software and process.
Because of the complexity of selling adjudicated property, many municipalities do not take action on adjudicated property. Barrios said that his company does all of the work of handling the sale of the property, indemnifying the municipality from any challenges to the sale.
The Town would not incur any fees for allowing CivicSource to handle the sale. All of the fees would be built into the final price of the sale and would be paid by the purchasing party.
In exchange, the Town of Mamou would no longer have any liability on the property; and it would be returned to the tax rolls. Likewise, the purchaser would acquire full ownership to the property with clear title and have the ability to place guaranteed title insurance on the property.
The Council deferred any action on using CivicSource to handle tax sales.
In other action, Deanna Baccus complained about vehicles from Car Care Center blocking access to Acadian Street, where she lives.
“I’m not a trouble-maker,” Baccus said, “but enough is enough.”
She said that tow trucks and wrecked vehicles are often left in the roadway, so that they block entry onto Acadian Street from Poinciana Avenue.
“It’s time to do something,” she said.
Fontenot said that the Town has already begun to take action. He said that the compliance officer has visited the business and cited some violations. Car Care Center will have ten days from the time of official notification to correct any issues or explain it in court.
Thomas Baccus also asked the Council to put up speed bumps or signs to slow traffic on Acadian Street to protect children playing near and in the road.
The Council accepted the donation of two pick-up trucks from the Mamou Housing Authority, which recently purchased new vehicles.