Audit Objective
Did the Ischua Fire District (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) properly audit claims prior to payment and did the District Treasurer (Treasurer) file Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) in a timely manner?
Audit Period
January 1, 2024 – January 6, 2026
Understanding the Audit Area
A proper 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 prior to public funds being disbursed. Because it is the board of fire commissioners’ (board) responsibility to ensure tax dollars are spent properly, efficiently and in the best interest of taxpayers, the board should generally conduct a thorough and deliberate audit of claims prior to directing a fire district treasurer to pay them.
A fire district board should ensure that the treasurer files the district’s AFR with the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s (OSC) office because it is both a legal requirement and a fundamental accountability tool. The AFR provides transparency to taxpayers, supports sound financial oversight and helps protect public resources.
The District’s 2025 budgeted appropriations totaled approximately $62,000. During the audit period, the District paid 252 claims totaling approximately $132,000.
Audit Summary
The Board did not properly audit claims prior to payment and the District’s AFRs have not been filed with OSC for more than 15 years. Without a thorough and documented audit of claims, the District had an increased risk for improper or unauthorized expenditures to be paid and that errors, irregularities, or misuse of District funds could go undetected and uncorrected. As a result, transparency over the District’s financial operations was diminished, the Board’s ability to effectively monitor the District’s financial operations was impaired, and District residents and taxpayers could not independently assess the District’s financial standing.
We reviewed 88 claims totaling approximately $54,000 and determined that the Board did not perform a thorough and complete audit of any of the claims. Therefore, the Treasurer should not have paid any of these claims until they were properly audited and approved by the Board. Although we determined that all 88 claims were for a proper District purpose, the Board did not have this assurance when the Treasurer paid these claims.
The report includes six recommendations that, if implemented, will strengthen the Board’s oversight, improve the audit and approval of claims and increase accountability and transparency over the District’s financial operations. District officials generally agreed with our findings and indicated they will initiate corrective action.
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.