BATON ROUGE - The head of a nonpartisan legislative office that digs into the spending of state and local government agencies is warning state lawmakers that he's teetering on the financial edge.
Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera said Tuesday he's eating into his agency's reserves, even as he continues to shrink staff. And lawmakers diverted $2 million from those reserves last month to help plug a state deficit.
Purpera's message to the Legislative Audit Advisory Council was direct: Cuts are threatening the watchdogs that find waste and fraud as the state is pinching pennies.He's asking lawmakers to add more state general fund money to his budget next year, so he can stop raiding reserves.
Lawmakers on the council were supportive. They'll consider his proposal in the upcoming legislative session that begins in April.