By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

HAHNVILLE — The St. Charles Council on Aging saw an 11 percent increase in assets, a recent audit said.

Conducted by T. S. Kearns & Co. of Thibodaux, the audit found COA had no long-term debt or deficit fund balances at year-end, while increasing by $135,547 its’ net capital assets.

Fund revenues also increased — by $117,221 — for the financial year ending June 30, 2014.

COA Board of Directors Chairman Bobby Stephenson said the organization is supported quite well locally.

“Fortunately for us, a number of years ago the taxpayers of St. Charles Parish passed a millage to help fund the COA,” Stephenson said, adding the community support bolsters funding available through the State of Louisiana Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs.

COA Executive Director April Keller had no comment when reached for her thoughts on the most recent audit, which was released this week.

The COA is a private non-profit corporation in St. Charles Parish responsible for administrating and coordinating services for the elderly and seeking adequate resources for those services. Governed by a 13-member volunteer board of directors, a paid staff supervises and administers the services provided by the COA.

Stephenson, a Luling resident, has been on the board for several years and has served as chairman for the past year.

He said initially getting involved in the COA was “quite an eye opener” because he “had no idea the COA in St. Charles Parish had as many services and provided so much for the people” in the parish.

Stephenson said it’s amazing how many COA services there are for residents, including legal advice, health advice, social outings, fitness classes and home-delivered meals.

The most widely used COA service, Stephenson said, are the meals delivered throughout the parish to elderly residents.

The St. Charles COA is located at 626 Pine Street, Suite A, in Hahnville and can be reached at 985-783-6683.

For more information and a schedule of activities, visit stcharlesparish-la.gov/coa.