An audit report the state Comptroller’s Office released yesterday on the Eastchester Fire District found that the Board of Fire Commissioners did not develop or monitor the district’s budget and overspent funds on several budget lines, resulting in a 2011 operating deficit of $195,000.
Auditors reviewed the district’s financial operations from Jan. 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2011. The district, which has five elected commissioners, includes Eastchester and the villages of Tuckahoe and Bronxville. Its budget for the 2010 fiscal year was $14.54 million and $14.49 million for 2011.
The audit found several other deficiencies in fire district operations, including:
—The Board of Fire Commissioners didn’t create a capital plan to addres the district’s deteriorating infrastructure. Maintenance and repair needs were addressed on an emergency basis.
—The board did not provide needed training to its secretary/treasurer, so its financial records didn’t comply with accounting standards prescribed by the Comptroller’s Office.
—Fire district officials didn’t always stick to the competitive-bidding requirements of its procurement policy. It obtained professional services from 11 vendors, paying them a total of $394,191. The board didn’t have written contracts with all of its professional services vendors.
—The Board of Fire Commissioners didn’t develop protocol or a policy for auditing claims.
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