Laf. library board in crosshairs

Officials with the Lafourche Parish Library System charged about $34,000 to public credit cards after and in spite of a government letter last year that ordered the board of control to “discontinue the use of credit cards immediately.”

Credit card vouchers filed with the parish’s Department of Finance reveal a MasterCard account bearing the name Susanna LeBouef, the library director, has produced more than 80 receipts between Nov. 17, 2010 and Nov. 15, 2011.

Parish President Charlotte Randolph, acting on authority affirmed by the District Attorney’s Office, directed the board to cease credit card use in a letter addressed to then-president of the board Jimmy Cantrelle on Nov. 22 of last year.

Since that time, the library system has charged $20,046.94 to the MasterCard and $13,891.07 to a Walmart credit card.

“It’s been a struggle ever since that letter,” Lafourche Parish Government Finance Director Ryan Friedlander said of compliance.

LeBouef said the library system, which was created by the parish’s police jury in 1935, reports solely to the parish council and therefore does not have to honor the request.

“We report to the parish council, not administration,” LeBouef said. “The DA gave us instructions that the council may request the discontinuation of the credit cards. They have not.”

Attached to Randolph’s letter to the library system was an opinion issued by District Attorney Cam Morvant.

In the opinion, obtained by the Tri-Parish Times via a public records request, Morvant said the “parish governing authority” could require library personnel to discontinue use of public credit cards.

“Therefore, as part of its exercise of budgetary and fiscal control, the parish governing authority may prohibit the use of credit cards and the purchase of gift cards for reading program give-a-ways,” Morvant wrote. “It is my understanding that parish procurement policies prohibit the use of credit cards by employees and that these same policies prohibit the purchase of gift cards using parish funds.”

Lisa Orgeron, an assistant district attorney who handles civil matters and boards and commissions with parish government, said Morvant’s letter intended to give the administration the authorization to ban the use of credit cards.

“Now that the library’s finances are under the parish umbrella, they can be made to follow what the parish rules are,” Orgeron said.

In response to a state legislator’s audit completed in 2007, Randolph banned the use of public credit cards for all boards and employees excluding herself. She said she uses her card for approved travel.

There is also a question as to whether or not the library board is following government protocol for purchasing supplies.

The cards’ listed expenditures include thousands of dollars worth of various library-supply purchases, ranging from books and construction code manuals to balloons, art supplies and a fog machine, that were not pre-authorized as mandated by LPG’s purchasing policy, according to notes Friedlander wrote on paid invoice sheets.

The LPG policy states that “all purchases shall be made with a purchase order being issued by the Finance and Purchasing Department before the purchase is placed with the vendor.”

Library officials have been asked to file a purchase order through MUNIS, the parish’s accounting software, on multiple occasions, said Friedlander, who added that he “often” invited the officials to the finance department for software training.

LeBouef, the library director, said the library board hired her, so its purchasing policies supersede parish directives.

She also said her office cannot upload to MUNIS.

“We are to sign the invoices and send them to the parish finance department,” she said. “They have MUNIS. The only access we have of MUNIS is reports. That’s their function. Somebody on their end has to put the purchase in.

“I follow the library board’s policy. I was hired by the library board, so I follow their procedures of purchasing.”

Friedlander stressed that he was not accusing the library board of illegal activity.

However, he said that by not following government policy, he considers the library purchases to be “unauthorized use of funds.”

“It’s not like these things would be denied, but they’re just not going through the proper channels to have the correct flow of authorization,” Friedlander said.

The cards have been used to pay for meals, library associations’ membership fees, travel and lodging to the associations’ conferences and a car cell phone charger.

One of the most recent charges the finance department has on file is $3,743.40 for six-person travel and lodging at the 2012 Public Library Association Conference in Philadelphia.

The travel was not authorized beforehand, according to Friedlander’s notes.

As the controller of all public funds, the parish finance department continued to pay the credit card bills with money out of the library’s coffers. Friedlander, however, wrote his initials and a message on each invoice: “Unauthorized use of credit card.”

Assistant Director Regina Lauland, South Lafourche Branch Administrator Paul Chiquet and Buildings Manager Raymond Lefort also have access to the credit cards, LeBouef said.

Friedlander said a meeting is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 20, when finance officials would try to quash the conflict with the library board.

LeBouef, who said she was aware of the meeting but not of its agenda, said she would hold her ground and not forfeit the credit cards unless an alternative payment method is offered.

“The Library System has always had a credit card,” she said. “They’ve had a credit card since, I think, credit cards were invented. If somebody can come up with a better plan, we’re open to considering it.”