DONALDSONVILLE — Audit results released Monday show that Ascension Parish recently fired two people for misusing parish funds, including one person who arranged to have drainage improvements done at a relative's home.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor also said the parish didn't have formal procedures to reconcile grant revenue and "business-type" revenue on its general ledger, and that it disposed of sewer plant property obtained from a federal Homeland Security grant without following required procedures.

The drainage work cited by auditors was worth $21,765. Auditors noted that a request for the work had been denied initially, but work occurred while Ascension's public works department was on medical leave.

Another employee used a parish vehicle for personal reasons at a cost of $8,765.

Neither the auditors nor the parish said whether those fired were referred for criminal charges. The misuse of money occurred from January to October 2024. The parish's internal controls uncovered the fraud, the auditors said.

In the Homeland Security case, local governments are required to follow certain procedures when disposing of goods obtained through a federal grant, in case the U.S. government wants to recover some of the money. The auditors said Ascension failed to do that.

In its response to the audit, parish government said has followed and would continue to follow appropriate steps after discovering misappropriations of funds, and said it would seek out guidelines if it has to dispose of items obtained with federal funds. It also said it had installed guidelines to ensure inter-agency transfers are logged on the parish ledger.