In January 2000, St. Tammany Parish changed its form of government from a police jury system to the current president-council form of government under its new home rule charter. The Department of Finance was responsible for making the profound changes in fiscal management that this new form of government required. Leslie Long became Director of Finance in June 2001. She and her staff have given the parish a level of professional fiscal accountability that is unprecedented in St. Tammany Parish’s history.

Ms. Long immediately set two goals for the department: an unqualified audit and the receipt of a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association. St. Tammany Parish had never received an unqualified audit, and it had never prepared a Comprehensive Financial Report.

Under Ms. Long’s leadership, the team of Karen Callaway, Eva Clark, Brandy Morse, Jackie Nunemacher, and Laura Reine reorganized, invested in software and training, and developed new procedures to account for and control parish funds. Thirty-four separate agencies were brought into compliance to produce a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, a daunting task. In the summer of 2003, St. Tammany received its first unqualified audit. In May of this year, the Government Finance Officers Association awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to St. Tammany Parish. The realization of these goals is a giant step forward for government in St. Tammany Parish.