Audit Objective
Did the Middlesex Fire District (District) Secretary/Treasurer (Treasurer) provide monthly and annual financial reports to the Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) and prepare and file the required annual financial report (AFR) with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC)?
Audit Period
January 1, 2019 – October 24, 2025
Understanding the Audit Area
The monthly and annual financial reports detail the District’s financial position and results of operations and provide the Board with necessary information to govern responsibly and monitor District financial operations. This can help protect the District from financial mismanagement and help establish transparency. For example, District residents and taxpayers may use the AFR to evaluate the financial stewardship of their elected representatives and to provide a basis for their own informed participation in the budgetary process. Gaps or delays in preparing monthly and annual financial reports undermines transparency and creates missed opportunities to identify and remedy fiscal concerns.
The Treasurer joined the District in October 2018 and serves as the District’s chief fiscal officer. The Treasurer is responsible for the custody, receipt, disbursement and accounting for District funds and filing the AFR with the OSC.
Audit Summary
The Treasurer prepared and provided monthly and annual financial reports to the Board. However, the Treasurer did not prepare and file the District’s AFRs with OSC for fiscal years 2018 through 2024 in a timely manner (Figure 1). The Treasurer told us the former Treasurer’s records were disorganized and incomplete, and she did not have access to the OSC Online Services portal1 to file the AFRs. When AFRs are not filed, transparency is diminished and the Board, District residents, taxpayers, OSC and other interested parties are denied the ability to assess the District’s financial standing.
The report includes two recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the District’s fiscal transparency. District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and their response is included in Appendix B.
We conducted this audit pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and OSC’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 New York State 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.
1 Fire districts must submit their AFR through the Online Services portal.