Seventeen months after the Mississippi Department of Transportation suspended all payments to the city of Hattiesburg, MDOT has lifted that ban, allowing city officials to receive reimbursements for held payments and pursue other Federal Highway Administration grant programs.
The suspension was lifted Friday after MDOT’s Internal Audit Division received city audit reports from Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017 and examined additional information supporting the city’s corrective action plans surrounding six audit findings.
“IAD has determined the audit reports as being satisfactory,” Audit Director P. Diane Gavin said in a memo to Mayor Toby Barker. “Therefore, MDOT considers the City of Hattiesburg to be in compliance with the reporting requirements of (Office of Management and Budget) circular ‘Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements’ codified under 2 C.F.R. Part 200.
“MDOT appreciates the efforts made by the City to resolve the matter of noncompliance.”
MDOT’s suspension began on July 7, 2017, after the city missed its June 30, 2017 deadline to turn in the Fiscal Year 2016 audit. At the time, the city had not completed an audit since Fiscal Year 2014.
“This is another significant step forward in regaining the city’s financial footing,” Barker said. “The lifting of this suspension allows us to be reimbursed for portions of projects already completed. Most importantly, it affords us the opportunity to compete for grants that can help fund much-needed infrastructure projects throughout our city.
“This stretches the tax-payer’s dollars and our capacity for equity of progress across all of Hattiesburg. This accomplishment comes through the hard work of our administrative team, lead by (Chief Administrative Officer) Ann Jones and (Chief Financial Officer) Connie Everett, as well as from the support of the entire city council.”
In November, Hattiesburg City Council members approved the Fiscal Year 2017 audit, which also allowed officials to reapply for the city’s bond rating with credit rating firm Moody’s. With a successful reapplication for the bond rating – which was suspended last year because of the late completion of the Fiscal Year 2015 audit – officials would be able to borrow funds at a competitive rate, as well as apply for grants for projects in the city, including the upcoming Public Safety Complex.
“When our administration walked in, in July of 2017, there hadn’t been an audit since Fiscal Year 2014,” Barker said in a previous story. “What that means was, we lost our bond rating with Moody’s and we missed out on millions of dollars in grants.”
Barker said since his administration took office, the city has completed three financial audits to bring the city’s standing into compliance. The first one was the Fiscal Year 2015 audit, which was received in December 2017, followed by the Fiscal Year 2016 audit in July and the Fiscal Year 2017 audit last month.
