State criticizes accounting by Bedford Hills Fire District

[Guest]

This should be a warning to all of us....we're all open to scrutiny at any time, and should have our affairs in order.

State criticizes accounting by Bedford Hills Fire District

By SEAN GORMAN

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: July 25, 2007)

BEDFORD - A recently released audit found "significant" accounting deficiencies in the Bedford Hills Fire District, including a failure to file mandated financial reports, inadequate record keeping and poor supervision of the district treasurer, according to the state Comptroller's Office.

"When local governments don't monitor their finances, taxpayer money is at risk," Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in a statement about the audit. "Bedford Hills is fortunate; no one took advantage of its lax accounting practices."

The 20-page document, which looked at the period from Jan. 1, 2005, to Nov. 13, 2006, said the district's fire commissioners didn't properly oversee the work of their treasurer, Barbara Guest.

The report said accounting records and minutes were incomplete and that the district hasn't filed a state-mandated financial report for eight years.

Thomas Dietz, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners, said the document made some good points. But he also said it contains some false information.

"There are a few things that clearly we realize we should do differently, and clearly we will do differently. There were no charges of misappropriation of funds," Dietz said yesterday. "It was really accounting stuff that they'd like it done a little differently than we did it."

Although the review said the district didn't audit the treasurer's work, Dietz said the board meets every March with Guest to go through all vouchers, canceled checks and other financial information.

The audit also said the district didn't get regular financial reports from the treasurer, but Dietz said it did get written reports from Guest at the fire commissioners' monthly meetings.

Guest could not immediately be reached for comment yesterday.

"I think she does a great job," Dietz said of the district's treasurer for roughly the past decade. "I think this audit was more of an education than anything else."

The audit also cited the district for not collecting $4,700 in rent and $7,000 in late fees on a home it owns next to the firehouse that's used as an office for a landscape architect company.

"He's been a very good tenant, and yes, we did forgive him late fees," said Dietz, who disputed the size of late-fee figure. "We never thought to charge him."

Emily DeSantis, a comptroller spokeswoman, said her office stood by the report's conclusions.

"The district was given the opportunity to point out inaccuracies in the audit, both in an exit conference and in the written response included in the audit," DeSantis said. "As you can see, they did not do that, and we stand by our audit findings."

Dietz wrote in a June 29 letter to the Comptroller's Office that while district officials felt their oversight of the treasurer had been sufficient, they would follow through on the report's recommendations to "further strengthen our recording and reporting practices."

In 2003, the Comptroller's Office took aim at the structure of a pension program that the district approved, saying it allowed volunteer firefighters to accrue benefits at a rate twice as fast as the state permits.

District officials said they had received legal advice assuring them that the pension structure was sound.

The fire district, which covers 17 square miles and provides fire protection to about 15,000 residents, has a $909,500 budget this year. It raises money through taxes and issuing bonds. The Bedford Hills Fire Department has about 100 active volunteers, Dietz said.

Dietz said this latest review cited the district for alleged shortcomings that weren't cited in a previous audit. It was unclear exactly when the district was last audited. The Comptroller's Office said it had been at least six years. Fire districts are audited periodically, but there's no fixed time frame, DeSantis said.

Among the legitimate points raised in the latest audit, Dietz said, was that the district should be filing forms with the IRS when it pays individuals more than $500 for work, such as cleaning or repair services.

"They've given some good things to change that we will change," Dietz said. "It's just the way audits are written. It just makes it sound much worse than it is."

Edited July 25, 2007 by EM2FD

[Guest Photounit]

"The audit also cited the district for not collecting $4,700 in rent and $7,000 in late fees on a home it owns next to the firehouse that's used as an office for a landscape architect company."

I find this odd as I always thought it was illegal for a Fire District to be a landlord. I guess I'm wrong?

[Guest]

I'm quite sure these oversights weren't done intentionally. Hope the district doesn't get nailed hard by the comptroller.