Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the District’s internal controls over use of its non-firefighting vehicles for the period January 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016.

Background

The Franklin Square and Munson Fire District is a district corporation of the State, distinct and separate from the hamlet of Franklin Square, Nassau County, in which it is located. The District is governed by an elected five-member Board of Fire Commissioners. General fund budgeted appropriations for 2016 totaled approximately $2.5 million.

Key Findings

• The Board did not appropriately document and monitor use of the District’s non-firefighting vehicles or ensure that they were used primarily for actual and necessary District purposes in an efficient and economical manner.
• Although the non-firefighting vehicles were purchased in mid-2015, no use was recorded for either vehicle in the vehicle use log until May 2016.

Key Recommendations

• Determine whether the non-firefighting vehicles are necessary for District operations and perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether these vehicles are a cost-effective use of public funds.
• Enforce the use of the vehicle use log by ensuring that the log is completely filled out each time a vehicle is used.