Mayor says auditor advised fee suspension

Mayor Bob Morris has suspended a monthly fee payment to Aucoin & Associates.

In a letter to City Attorney Jacque Pucheu, Morris said he did so on the advice of the Legislative Auditor’s Office.

Karl Aucoin, whose firm the city retains to be on hand to respond to engineering issues, said he had no idea what the problem is.

“Frankly, the designation has cost us money,” he said.

Aucoin’s firm is paid $553.13 monthly to be on hand at city meetings, to take phone calls and the like.

At one time, Eunice had a city engineer, just as it has a city attorney, but no longer does, though Aucoin is often referred to in that manner.

Morris said the auditor’s office raised questions about the firm being retained yet also being paid as the engineer of record on city projects.

The relationship has never been questioned in city audits, Aucoin said.

He added that whether his firm remains on-call to city officials is up to the mayor and council.

At this point, he said, it’s not.