Fund balance for Public Defenders Office jumps $356,000
Published 11:45 pm Friday, December 12, 2014
By Monique Roth
L’Observateur
LAPLACE — The fund balance for the St. John the Baptist Parish’s 40th Judicial District Court Public Defenders Office was up more than $356,000 in June when compared to the previous fiscal year, a recently-released audit states.
Financial highlights of the audit, which was conducted by LaPlace CPA Keith Rivere and published on the Louisiana State Auditor’s website, include findings that the Public Defenders Office’s total net position increased by $82,767 or 30 percent over the course of the year’s operations, primarily due to an increase in court cost revenue and state revenue during the last fiscal year, which covered July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014.
Department revenues increased by 22.9 percent to $775,894, while expenses for the year decreased by 5.8 percent or approximately $42,811.
The general fund reported a fund balance of $356,802, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year.
According to the audit, the Public Defenders Office is dependent on bail bond fees, forfeitures and court costs collected in the parish for approximately 83 percent of its revenues.
“The principal funding source consists of payments of court costs by persons pleading guilty to misdemeanor and traffic offenses, which is an uncertain amount that fluctuates from month to month,” the audit states, adding external factors such as a reduction in enforcement activities, convictions and assessment of court costs could lead to a reduction in revenue for the office.