Audit Objective
Did the Rotterdam Fire District Number 7 Schonowe (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) properly audit claims?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
The audit of claims is often the last line of defense for preventing unauthorized, improper or fraudulent claims from being paid. When a fire district has a strong claims auditing process, the control consciousness of its staff is enhanced because officers and employees are aware that a careful review of claims will occur before public funds are disbursed. Because it is the Board’s responsibility to ensure tax dollars are spent properly, efficiently and in the best interest of taxpayers, the Board should conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of claims before directing the Treasurer to pay them.
The District paid 314 claims totaling approximately $1 million during the audit period.
Audit Summary
The Board did not conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of all claims paid during the audit period. We reviewed 79 claims totaling $941,015 and determined that none of the claims were audited and approved by the entire Board, as required. Although we determined that the 79 claims were for proper District expenditures, the claims were paid without the full Board’s authorization or confirmation that all claims were supported and for valid and legal purposes. In addition, the lack of a claims audit increased the risk that claims for improper purposes could be paid, or that irregularities could go undetected and uncorrected.
We identified the following:
Three claims totaling $603,433 were not audited and approved by any Board members.
- 72 claims totaling $290,454 were audited and approved by only two Board members.
- Four claims totaling $47,128 were audited and approved by only one Board member.
- 13 claims totaling $27,162 were paid in advance of audit and approval prior to the monthly Board meetings; however, the claims were not authorized to be paid in advance.
The report includes four recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the effectiveness of the District’s claims audit process. District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and New York Office of the State Comptroller’s (OSC) authority as set forth in Article 3 of the New York State General Municipal Law.Our methodology and standards are included in Appendix C.
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. Pursuant to Section 181-b of New York State Town Law (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.