Audit Objective 

Determine whether the Richford Fire District (District) Board of Commissioners (Board) established adequate long-term capital and financial plans and provided adequate oversight over financial operations.

Key Findings 

The Board did not establish adequate long-term capital and financial plans and did not provide adequate oversight over financial operations. When oversight of financial operations and long-term planning is not adequately performed, the Board and District officials run the risk that necessary fire protection and emergency services resources will not be available. The Board did not: 

• Adequately plan for long-term capital and financial needs totaling $5.6 million which may impair the District’s ability to continue to provide fire protection and emergency services.
• Ensure the financial information it received was accurate, complete or timely. For example, the final monthly budget-to-actual reports on record for each fiscal year from 2019 through 2022 did not consistently compare expenditures with the correct fiscal year’s budgeted appropriations.
• Receive accurate monthly cash balances for the audit period and did not identify the discrepancies.
• Ensure the annual financial reports (AFR) were filed in accordance with New York State General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30.
• Perform adequate annual audits; therefore, the Board was not aware that the reports and information it used to make financial decisions were inaccurate.

In addition, three of the five Commissioners did not comply with NYS Town Law (Town Law) Section 176-e which required them to complete fiscal training in a timely manner, and while not required, the Treasurer had also not completed any formal training related to her position.

Recommendations 

The audit report includes eight recommendations to help the Board and District officials improve long-term planning and oversight. District officials agreed with our findings and indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.