Louisiana MO City Council: Drama, Betrayal, and $190K Fines

A Community in Crisis: Financial Fines and Internal Conflict

Louisiana, Missouri is once again facing a crisis, but this time it’s not due to criminal charges against city officials. Instead, the city is being fined thousands of dollars by the Department of Revenue (DOR) for failing to submit its financial reports on time. What makes this situation particularly alarming is that the city council was unaware of these fines until a local resident brought the issue to light.

The story began when Mike Sherman, a resident of Louisiana, requested the 2022-2023 audit report from the Missouri state auditor's office. He was told that the report wasn’t available because the city hadn’t published it yet. After submitting several sunshine law requests, Sherman discovered that the city had been fined daily for several months. The fines were tied to the late submission of the End of Year (EOY) financial report.

Sherman revealed that the city was fined $196,500—though the mayor later corrected the figure to around $192,000—for missing the deadline to submit their 2022-2023 EOY financial report. These fines were deducted from the city’s sales and use tax distribution from the DOR each month. Unless someone was closely monitoring the accounts, the city wouldn’t have realized they were being penalized.

“This is a serious issue,” said Sherman. “If it wasn’t reported and they didn’t know about it, then shame on them. Directly, shame on the mayor... it really saddens me for the citizenry of Louisiana that we have an administration that isn’t doing their job.”

Sherman brought the matter to the attention of the city council during a meeting on July 14th. Although the meeting hasn’t been posted on the city website, a resident recorded the event and shared it with KHQA. In the video, Mayor Tim Carter responded to Sherman’s claims, stating that the fines weren’t something the city would have recognized if they hadn’t been informed.

One week later, the city council held a special meeting to address what they called "public misinformation." Again, the meeting wasn’t posted online, but a resident recorded it and shared it on Facebook. During the meeting, Carter emphasized the need to focus on facts rather than political attacks.

However, the meeting quickly turned heated. Sherman felt that Carter’s remarks were a direct attack on his family, as he is married to Glenda Sherman, a councilwoman, and his daughter-in-law, Alissa Horton, serves as the city treasurer. Sherman expressed frustration over the tension this created within his family.

What started as a discussion about the city’s financial penalties ended with a chaotic scene involving personal conflict. Councilwoman Sherman asked questions about the EOY report, only to be cut off by the mayor, who asked her to recuse herself due to a potential conflict of interest. Despite the lack of clear guidelines on such conflicts, Sherman insisted she had the right to ask questions as a representative of her ward.

The situation escalated further when Sherman excused herself from the council and continued asking questions as a resident. The mayor responded by interpreting this as a resignation, leading to a crowd of residents expressing their disapproval. The chamber was eventually cleared of all constituents.

In a press release issued on July 22nd, the city acknowledged the fines but claimed they were still being charged even after submitting the report. According to the mayor, the city is now receiving $120,000 back from the DOR. Carter also mentioned that they are requesting the remaining $70,000 in fines to be waived due to the circumstances surrounding the report’s submission.

Carter attributed the delay to administrative turnover in 2022, which caused the report to fall through the cracks. He also mentioned that the city had planned to audit the report with a private company before sending it to the state, which added to the delay.

Despite these explanations, Sherman remained critical of the mayor’s leadership. “It might be believable, but it's not acceptable,” he said. Carter, on the other hand, described the situation as a “political assassination attempt.”

While there is much debate in the small community, one thing seems clear: the responsibility for the financial penalty ultimately lies with the mayor. “The buck stops here,” said Sherman. “And in my mind, when it comes to this financial penalty, the buck stops at the mayor's desk.” Carter admitted that he didn’t catch the issue in a timely fashion, acknowledging that the responsibility falls on his office.

KHQA is continuing to investigate the details provided by the mayor and will keep the community informed about this ongoing crisis.