[read compete report – pdf]

Audit Objective

Determine whether the Montauk Fire District (District) Board of Commissioners (Board) monitored financial activities and ensured appropriate records and reports were maintained and/or audited to comply with statutory requirements.

Key Findings

The Board did not adequately monitor financial activities or ensure that appropriate records and reports were maintained and audited to comply with statutory requirements. As a result, the Board diminished the District’s transparency and its ability to assess the District’s financial operations. Specifically: 

• Mandated annual audits of the District’s financial or length of service award program (LOSAP) records have not been performed since 2019.
• The Secretary-Treasurer has not filed the mandated Annual Financial Report (AFR) for fiscal years 2021, 2022 and 2023, and filed the 2020 AFR nearly 1,200 days late.
• Employees received longevity and overtime payments totaling $25,000 in 2023 that were not authorized by the Board.
• The District’s LOSAP point system was inconsistent with New York State General Municipal Law (GML) in several aspects, potentially inhibiting volunteer firefighters’ ability to earn LOSAP service credit.

Key Recommendations

• Ensure an external audit of the District’s financial and LOSAP records is performed annually.
• Ensure the Secretary-Treasurer prepares and files the District’s delinquent AFRs and files all subsequent AFRs with the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC) within 60 days of the close of the fiscal year.
• Review and amend the LOSAP point system, as necessary, to ensure conformity with GML.

District officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings and recommendations. Appendix B includes our comments on issues raised in the District’s response.