Determine whether the Hammond Fire District (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) adequately monitored the District’s financial activities, adopted required policies and completed required training.

Key Findings 

The Board did not adequately monitor financial activities. Specifically, the Board did not: 

• Ensure that it received sufficient monthly financial reports to effectively monitor financial operations throughout the year.
• Ensure the Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) were filed timely.
• Conduct an annual audit of the Secretary- Treasurer’s financial records.

As a result, the Board cannot assure taxpayers and other interested parties that the District’s financial operations are adequately accounted for and reported.

Furthermore, although the Board adopted a code of ethics, it did not adopt the required procurement or investment policies, and only one of the five Board members complied with New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 176-e which requires each Board member to complete fiscal training in a timely manner. One Board member has not yet completed the required training and three Board members completed the training between 185 and 1,138 days late.

Recommendations 

The audit report includes 10 recommendations that, if implemented, will help the Board improve its oversight of financial activities.

District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.