[read complete report – pdf]

Audit Objective

Did the Town Line Fire Department (Department) Board of Directors (Board) and President properly plan for and manage the fire station building capital project?

Audit Period

January 1, 2022 – November 19, 2025

Understanding the Audit Area

Capital projects should be properly planned and managed to help ensure that the project is completed in a cost-effective, transparent and timely manner and that the resulting facility adequately meets a fire department’s current and future operational needs. Effective planning and oversight help officials establish realistic project scopes and budgets, evaluate financing options, monitor project costs and timeliness, comply with legal and procurement requirements and minimize the risk of cost overruns, delays or unnecessary expenditures. Proper project management also promotes accountability to the taxpayers by ensuring that funds are used effectively and that project decisions are adequately documented and supported.

A fire department board of directors (fire department board) is responsible for overseeing and managing capital projects. The Board and membership initially approved $1 million in the Department’s 2022 annual budget to fund a capital project (Project) to expand the size of the Department’s Fire Station Number 1 (one of its two existing fire stations). In 2023, after the Board selected its construction management and general contracting company, the Board and membership increased this estimated amount by $300,000, for a total of $1.3 million.

Audit Summary

The Board and President did not properly plan and manage the Project. By adopting a written multiyear capital plan, creating a detailed and itemized budget, approving all change orders and adhering to the Department’s purchasing policy, they could have gained a clearer understanding of the Project’s requirements. This would have allowed for a more accurate cost estimate and timeline, which could have potentially avoided unnecessary costs. Consequently, the Treasurer paid approximately $1.6 million in Project expenses, which surpassed the initially estimated costs of $1 million.

Specifically, officials did not:

• Create and adopt a written multiyear capital plan that would have helped officials understand the Project’s needs and overall scope by outlining the work to be performed and an expected progress timeline with a completion date. 
• Develop an itemized budget for the expected lifespan of the Project. An initial Project budget would have helped officials understand the estimated costs, guarded against wasteful spending and provided a mechanism for monitoring the Project. 
• Properly approve change orders totaling approximately $215,000 for unanticipated work. Had officials initially properly planned the Project and reviewed construction contracts before the Project began, the Board and President may have identified that a substantial amount of work needed to complete the Project was not initially included in the construction contracts. 
• Purchase goods and services for the Project according to the Department’s purchasing policy. This included hiring a general contractor for the project, and paying the general contractor approximately  $1.4 million,¹ without issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) or obtaining the required number of written proposals.

The report includes nine recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Department’s capital project planning and management procedures. Department officials disagreed with certain aspects of our findings and recommendations, but indicated they will initiate corrective action. Appendix C includes our comments on issues raised in the Department’s response letter.

This audit was conducted pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s (OSC’s) authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law (GML). The audit’s methodology and standards are included in Appendix D.

The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. The Board is encouraged to prepare a written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the recommendations in this report and forward it to OSC within 90 days. For more information on preparing and filing the CAP, please refer to the OSC brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which was provided with the draft audit report. The Board is encouraged to make the CAP available for public review.

1 This amount includes the cost of the original contract totaling $1.16 million, change orders totaling $215,000 and additional work totaling $11,000.