ELTON, La. (KPLC) – Financial struggles are continuing in Elton, where officials have discovered the town has continued to pay for several former employees’ health insurance for as long as a year and a half after their employment ended.
Over the past few months, we have told you about the financial issues in the town, from past-due bills to unpaid federal payroll taxes. Now officials are laying where the town stands financially all out on the table.
At Wednesday night’s special council meeting, Interim Mayor Mike Pierrotti shared that the town’s general fund currently has around $248,000. The town owes the IRS $215,000 in unpaid federal payroll taxes.
“That doesn’t leave much right now in that general fund, once you take that out,” Pierrotti said.
Federal payroll taxes were not paid from the last quarter of 2022 until the third quarter of this year.
The $215,000 does not include any interest or penalties that the town may face.
“I’ve sent a letter with the payment requesting that they waive penalties, and interest due to the change in staff that we had, the change in mayor, the change in clerks,” Mayor Pierrotti said.
Also up for discussion is town employee insurance.
As of Oct. 26, Mayor Pierrotti says 13 employees were on their list of those receiving health insurance through the town. Seven of those people are no longer employed by the Town of Elton, meaning the town has been paying for insurance for former employees.
“With seven people off of the rolls, which should’ve been taken off of the rolls, that would be $35,434 in premiums,” Mayor Pierrotti said.
Mayor Pierrotti said some of those people haven’t been employed with the town in over a year and a half.
Going forward, the town will only pay 60/40 rather than 100 percent on health insurance through the town.
Town officials also discussed projected budget cuts.
“We were spinning quite a bit of money on toilet paper, sprays, so again after speaking with Bruce and some of the council, we felt like we could totally move away from shortly from Sintile,” Mayor Pierrotti said.
Mayor Pierrotti said he opted to not receive the gas allowance and health insurance through the town.
According to Mayor Pierrotti, former mayor Kesia Lemoine received a gas allowance of $50 a month, so the town will now save $600 a year. She also received $783.40 in health insurance a month, which will put $9,400 a year back into the town.
Elton councilmembers and Mayor Pierrotti assured residents that they were not aware of any bills or 941 taxes not being paid.
“Let me just ask this. Since you were not the mayor at that time, I just want to make sure that we’re all just on the same page. All of you were seated as council under the former administration, under the former clerk, and to your knowledge did any of you know, were you aware that the bills were not being paid, that the 941s had not been paid?” Councilwoman Kay Hebert asked.
The council and Mayor Pierrotti responded that they had not been aware.
Following the recall of former mayor Lemoine, Piertotti is running for the official title of mayor, challenged by former councilwoman Marilynn Granger, who helped spearhead the recall effort.
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