Fire agencies get clean audits
November 25, 2008
By Jon Savelle
State finds no problems at EFR for decade
In an exercise that has become almost routine, the State Auditor’s Office once again has found no financial problems with either Eastside Fire & Rescue or King County Fire District 10. The agency’s 2007 audit reports were released Nov. 10. They are exactly like those released each year over the last decade or so, in that the fire services are managing their assets 100 percent correctly.
“It was a clean audit,” said EFR Controller Scott Faires. “The results were good, so I’m happy.”
In fact, Faires said the state has never found a problem at EFR in its 10-year existence, and the last time Fire District 10 had to correct something was seven or eight years ago.
“The agency complied with state laws and regulations and its own policies and procedures in the areas we examined,” states the report for EFR. “Internal controls were adequate to safeguard public assets.”
Fire District 10, part of the EFR consortium, got the same result.
The other members of the consortium are Fire District 38 and the cities of Issaquah, North Bend and Sammamish. Altogether, EFR operates 15 fire stations on an annual budget of $19.4 million. It employs more than 120 firefighters and 23 staff members.
Each year, the state auditor examines a limited number of financial activities in the target agency. For EFR in 2007, these included “accountability” items, such as:
- Small assets, like computers
- Contracts and agreements
- Open public meetings and records laws
- Disbursements and expenditures
- 4Payroll
- 4Procurement.
The financial activity examined in 2007 included:
- Cash and investments
- Revenues
- Expenditures and expenses
- Financial condition
- Overall presentation of financial statements
- Financial statement preparation.
Fire District 10 was audited similarly.
As a consortium, EFR performs a wide range of services besides fighting fires. While these are not itemized in the auditor’s report, they include emergency preparedness and first aid training, fire prevention, emergency medical response, swift-water rescue, hazardous materials response and property inspections.
Reach Reporter Jon Savelle at 392-6434, ext. 234, or jsavelle@isspress.com.
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