[read complete report – audit]

Audit Objective

Did the Cincinnatus Fire District (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) properly safeguard financial resources?

Audit Period

January 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024.

We extended the audit period to March 18, 2025 to review training certificates, the adopted code of ethics policy and obtain the 2025 adopted budget.

Understanding the Audit Area

A fire district board is responsible for providing proper oversight of a fire district’s financial resources. This includes properly safeguarding financial resources to protect taxpayers, ensure operational effectiveness, and prevent fraud and misuse of funds. This is accomplished, in part, by monitoring financial and inventory records, establishing clear policies, and complying with New York State Town Law (Town Law) Section 176-e that mandates fiscal oversight training.

The District’s budgeted appropriations for 2025 totaled $219,166 and the District’s reserve fund balance totaled $29,282 as of December 31, 2024. Additionally, the District had 580 assets totaling approximately $2.2 million on its inventory record and insurance policies.

Audit Summary

The Board did not always properly safeguard financial resources. Although the Board received sufficient monthly financial reports, monitored financial operations throughout the year and ensured that annual financial reports (AFRs) were filed in a timely manner, the Board did not:

• Ensure that District assets were properly accounted for and safeguarded, including 19 assets totaling $33,009 that were not onsite. These assets included items such as computers, cameras and night vision goggles.
• Adopt:
  • A required code of ethics policy to establish reasonably expected standards of conduct, or
  • A fund balance and reserve fund policy to establish reasonable fund balance limits and guidance on the use of fund balance and reserves.

Furthermore, one Board member did not complete the required fiscal oversight training within 270 days of taking office which, as of March 11, 2025, was 165 days past the deadline.

Without accurate and up-to-date inventory records, District officials cannot ensure that all assets are accounted for and easily located, which increases the risk that assets could be lost, stolen or misused. Additionally, without a code of ethics policy, Board members and officials did not have guidelines defining the standards of conduct, including the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The lack of a fund balance and reserve policy meant the District did not have clear guidelines for defining how much fund balance should be maintained or how it should be monitored. Lastly, when Board members do not complete the required fiscal oversight training, they may not be aware of their legal and financial responsibilities when conducting business on behalf of the District.

The report includes five recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Board’s oversight of financial resources. District officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they have initiated or plan to initiate corrective action. The District’s response is included in Appendix B.

We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and the State Comptroller’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law (GML). Our methodology and standards are included in Appendix C.

The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. Pursuant to Section 181-b of Town Law, a written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report must be prepared and forwarded to our office within 90 days. To the extent practicable, implementation of the CAP must begin by the end of the next fiscal year. For more information on preparing and filing your CAP, please refer to our brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which you received with the draft audit report. We encourage the Board to make the CAP available for public review.