Parish finance director reports audit completion; contract auditor outlines opioid-fund checks

The Livingston Parish Finance Committee was told May 28 that the parish’s annual audit has been completed and will be presented at the committee’s June 11 meeting, and a contracted auditor described stepped-up checks on opioid settlement spending.

Mickey McMorris, finance director for Livingston Parish, said the audit team finished its work and will place the audit on the June 11 agenda, praising the auditors for weekend work that helped the parish meet reporting deadlines. He introduced the contract auditor retained to monitor opioid-related grant spending.

"My name's Jim Boozer. I as Mickey said, I am a contract auditor who have been who has been retained to kind of help you all keep track of the opioid money that is coming in," Boozer said, describing on-site visits to grant recipients and a recent invoice review in which expenses were found to be "reasonable and justified." He said auditors have visited sober-living facilities and other recipients to confirm funds are used for opioid-related services.

Boozer warned against improper purchases and offered a cautionary anecdote, saying, "we're trying to make sure Livingston Parish doesn't buy a snow plow," a reference to an out-of-parish case where settlement money was spent on an unrelated item.

Committee members welcomed Boozer’s work and thanked staff for program coordination. McMorris and staff emphasized ongoing documentation and due diligence, saying invoices and backups will continue to be reviewed to ensure recipients spend opioid funds only on eligible opioid-related activities.

The committee took no formal votes on opioid policy or funding at the meeting; the committee adjourned on a procedural motion at the end of the session.