Residents of the Town of Cullen are asking a simple and fair question: How did the town reach a point where employees were not paid and officials say there is no money?
A review of multiple years of audited financial statements shows that the answer is not tied to a single incident, but to a long, visible decline in the cash that actually pays salaries, combined with unresolved losses and rising expenses. These conditions are now the subject of an active state audit.
The Illusion of Financial Stability
For years, Cullen’s audits showed the town with millions of dollars in net position. While this may sound reassuring, net position includes infrastructure such as water systems, buildings, and equipment—assets that cannot be used to pay employees or vendors.
What truly matters for payroll is unrestricted funds and available cash.
The Cash That Pays Salaries — By Year
Below is a simplified summary of Cullen’s unrestricted funds, the pool of money used for payroll and daily operations, based on audited records:
Unrestricted Funds (Payroll-Capable Money)
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2017: approximately $1,281,575
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2018: approximately $1,241,985
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2019: approximately $977,625
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2020: approximately $787,159
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2021: approximately $517,737
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2022: approximately $45,524
Why This Matters
This represents a 96% collapse in payroll-capable funds over roughly five years.
By the end of the 2022 fiscal year, Cullen had less than two months of typical payroll coverage, even before accounting for utilities, fuel, insurance, and emergency expenses.
This Was Not Sudden
The decline was gradual, visible, and documented in official audit reports. Each year showed less margin for error. By 2021, unrestricted funds were already dangerously low. By 2022, the town was operating on financial fumes.
A CPA reviewing the books today would have no choice but to say:
“There is no money.”
Because, in practical terms, there isn’t.
Water & Sewer Losses Accelerated the Decline
Cullen’s water and sewer system repeatedly operated at a loss—despite being designed to fund itself. In the most recent audited years, losses reached hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, including nearly half a million dollars in one year alone.
Those losses did not disappear. They were absorbed by the same unrestricted funds used for payroll.
Rising Expenses, Flat Revenues
While unrestricted cash was shrinking:
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Operating expenses increased
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Administrative and utility costs rose
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Revenues remained flat or declined
This created a structural deficit, meaning Cullen was spending more each year than it brought in—an unsustainable model that eventually guarantees payroll failure.
Employees Not Paid: A Critical Warning Sign
Failure to pay employees is one of the clearest indicators of severe financial distress in municipal finance. It signals that the town has exhausted its liquid resources.
This condition alone is often enough to trigger state-level scrutiny.
Why the State Is Auditing Cullen
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor typically intervenes when several warning signs appear together, including:
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Long-term depletion of unrestricted funds
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Persistent operating losses
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Prior audit findings requiring correction
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Resubmitted audits with additional findings
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Payroll or vendor payment failures
Cullen’s financial history checks multiple boxes.
Missing Records After June 30, 2022
One issue now raising public concern is that financial records from June 30, 2022 to the present are not currently available on the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s website. The most recent public audit ends at the 2022 fiscal year.
This gap prevents residents from seeing:
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How much money came in after mid-2022
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How remaining funds were spent
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When payroll became impossible
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What corrective actions were taken
Public Tax Records
Click to download.
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Heart of Webster Is Seeking the Records
Heart of Webster is actively working to obtain the missing financial records through public-records requests and follow-up inquiries. Transparency is critical, especially when public employees went unpaid.
What the Audits Show—and What They Don’t
The audits reviewed do not currently show evidence of theft or a single act of fraud. What they do show is equally serious:
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Years of ignored financial warnings
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A steady drain of payroll cash
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Continued losses without correction
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A collapse that was foreseeable
The Question Moving Forward
The public deserves answers to documented, fact-based questions:
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Who knew unrestricted funds were collapsing?
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Why were losses allowed to continue?
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When did officials know payroll was at risk?
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What happened financially after June 30, 2022?
