Cleco Responds To The Town Talk
Madison: From day one, Cleco has pushed to start this audit
My Turn
That’s what we have been working for since the spring of 2004. In fact, the method for providing answers — an audit done by experts acceptable to both parties — is spelled out in our contract with the city.
The Town Talk was both ill informed and irresponsible in its July 7 editorial [“Citizens stiffed as Alexandria, Cleco dawdle”]. The claim that Cleco Corp. has tried to delay an audit of transactions with the city of Alexandria has no basis in fact.
It is a ridiculous assertion, and the people of Alexandria deserve the facts.
My position hasn’t changed from day one:
An objective audit should be done as soon as possible. If, at the end of the process, Cleco owes money to the city, we will pay it.
A business has nothing to gain from dragging out an issue with a customer. Every customer no matter their size deserves honest answers.
Within weeks after the city first raised concerns to us, we suggested a number of nationally known accounting firms capable of conducting the audit. When that effort failed to gain traction, we continued working with city officials to find qualified firms to audit our records.
For reasons best known to them, city officials instead decided to file a lawsuit against Cleco. Still, we worked to speed up the litigation and associated audit, not delay it.
What may be confusing to some is the lawsuit we filed against two former employees.
That is a completely separate issue. While there may have been a point of common origin, the lawsuit against our former employees is an employment-contract matter, and it has never delayed any audit between Cleco and the city.
We have never tried to keep an unbiased firm from auditing our records on behalf of Alexandria residents.
A federal judge is now overseeing what we believe will be a fair audit process, and we will continue to do all we can to move the audit forward. It is well past time to get to the real facts in dispute, rather than waste years and taxpayers’ money in senseless court fights where the only winners are the attorneys and consultants collecting lucrative fees.
For two years now, the hundreds of Cleco employees who live in this community and contribute to meet its needs have endured potshots and watched the company they proudly work for have its name dragged through the mud.
When you look at the facts, there is no reason for this character assassination. Whether it is hurricane recovery, coaching the Little League, participating in local churches, or serving as Red Cross volunteers, Cleco and its 1,200 employees are here for this community and our customers. You don’t stay in business for more than 70 years any other way.
We are — and always have been — ready for an independent audit.
CenLamar 
bullshit
I don’t that it would be advantageous for him to lie. I do see it advantageous to have a quicker settlement than they’ve been getting.
THEN WHY NOT JUST TURN OVER DOCUMENTS REQUESTED BY THE CITY OVER @ YEARS AGO,WHY SPONSOR LEGISLATION IN BATON ROUGE TO PREVENT RECOVERY, WHY AMEND CONTRACT TO TRY TO MAKE PAST SINS GO AWAY, WHY TRY TO SLIP THROUGH A FORMER EMPLOYEE AS AN ” INDEPENDENT” AUDITOR. THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF SNEAKY BS COVERUP THAT WENT ON AT ENRON AND WORLDCOM AND INCIDENTALLY, KPMG HAS HAD SOME PROBLEMS JUST LIKE AUTHOR ANDERSON. CHECK IT OUT ON THE WEB. MADISON IS EITHER UNINFORMED OR LYING OR BOTH.
Yeah, and the guys around the locker room refer to me as “John Holmes…..” Uh……..no.
How much of my utility bill goes toward maintaining that nice little haircut?
Excuse me Mr Selfrightous Madison. It was NOT anyone but CLECO who has drug itself through the mud. For you to blame everyone else is exactly why you and your company find itself in the position it is in. You like your previous CEO seem to believe that you are above the rules everyone else works under. OTHERWISE your company and the hundreds of CLECO people would not have been fined MILLIONS of dollars repeatedly would you . NOW, before you go attacking those who seek the truth perhaps you yourself should learn the truth and not as it is spood fed and filtered to you . Because if and when it goes from Civil to other courts, you will be responsible for knowing what went on at your company. Ie, Kenneth LAY
finally someone at cleco has the cojones to tell it like it is. the city has been dragging its feet. as he said cleco has been trying to get a fair audit for years. the city is the one that started with biased auditors if their level of expertise even rises to that level.
How bout this Idea. GIVE THE CITY THE DAMN DOCUMENTS . IF IT AINT NUTHIN IT AINT NUTHIN and THERE IS NO REASON TO HIDE. CLECO BROUGHT THIS ON ……… THAT was the original request as I recall. I gotta wonder like the previous writer..whats with the hair thing??
looks like the city is about to get the documents in a fair process. this could have been accomplished over a year ago but for the lack of leadership at city hall. The documents have never been the issue…the fairness of the auditor is what has held this up. It took a federal judge to get it done.
whats gonna be funny is when they do the audit and find out the city owes cleco money.
the city owing cleco money is highly likely!
you make a good point terry
sureeee…..that makes sense….I get it..CLECO probably was owed $20,000,000 by all those other people ….I sure think that is bad that the Public Service Commission made them pay those other rate payers when…gee the writer up above thinks Alex probably owes them. MAN, there should be a sound that goes off when CLECOIDS write on here
LMAO
what was NEALs response?
Neal said thats an ugly b**** that i was getting with