audit_findings: 13

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rowid source report_number finding_number muni_id state entity_name entity_type entity_ext_id place_geoid match_method auditor report_title audit_type fiscal_year period_start period_end published_date finding_category severity questioned_cost cost_basis finding_title finding_text report_url fetched_at
13 wa-sao 1020241 2016-001   WA Shoreline Fire Department Fire Protection District 1126   not_municipal Washington State Auditor's Office Accountability audit — Shoreline Fire Department Accountability 2016 2016-01-01 2016-12-31 2018-08-27 procurement       The District did not verify purchases made through its purchasing cooperative complied with the state laws and regulations Background Fire districts are required to competitively bid all purchases over $50,000 (RCW 52.14.110). Specifications for the purchases must be available to all interested parties and must be approved by the governing body. The submitted bids must be opened and read publicly at a fixed time and place. State law allows fire districts to fulfill bidding requirements through a process referred to as piggybacking. “Piggybacking” refers to one local government making purchases from contracts awarded by another government or group of governments via an interlocal agreement or contract. To ensure compliance when procuring through piggybacking, the local government must ensure its own bidding requirements are met before expending public funds. Description of Condition In 2016, Shoreline Fire District entered into a purchasing cooperative to purchase a ladder truck totaling $1,187,500. The District observed other public agencies use the same purchasing group and verified state law authorized the use of purchasing cooperatives. However, the District did not ensure the procurement process used by the purchasing cooperative complied with Washington bid requirements. The purchasing cooperative selected a vendor using a request for proposal process, rather than a formal competitive bidding process. Cause of Condition The purchasing cooperative’s procurement method complied with the out -of-state lead agency’s bid requirements; however, it did not satisfy the procurement regulations in Washington. The District believed all Washington procurement regulations were met by entering into the cooperative contract. However, the District did not know they were required to verify and maintain evidence that Washington’s bid laws were satisfied. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 6 Effect of Condition The District cannot demonstra te it adequately safeguarded public resources by ensuring that the purchase complied with the District’s applicable laws and regulations. Recommendation We recommend the District ensure that purchases made through purchasing cooperatives or other governmen t municipalities comply with the District’s applicable laws and regulations. In addition, the District should retain documentation of its efforts to verify the purchase complied with Washington procurement regulations before making the purchase. District’s Response The Shoreline Fire Department is committed to cooperating with the State Auditor to ensure that our Department is managed and operated in full compliance with the law. The Department is also committed to complying with all public bidding laws to ensure that public funds are spent in the most responsible and efficient manner possible. Unfortunately, when purchasing the ladder truck, our Department did not ensure the procurement process used by the purchasing cooperative complied with Washington St ate bid requirements. This was an unintentional oversight of our policy language; however, the purpose of engaging with this purchasing cooperative was solely in the interest of saving the taxpayers money. In the end, we believe that this purchase resulted in savings to the citizens as we were provided with multiple discounts. Although we had this misstep, the Department felt due diligence was applied by researching the purchasing cooperative contract with Pierce, other public agencies that had made the pu rchases under the same contract, reading of the Washington State Interlocal Cooperative Act, and solicitation of a legal opinion from counsel. The language of the Interlocal Cooperative Act authorized the use of the purchasing cooperative contract. While we disagree with the decision to issue the Department a finding, we understand that it was our responsibility to collect and maintain evidence that Washington’s bid laws were satisfied. We are planning to implement additional internal controls to ensure that the State bid requirements are met going forward by requiring that employees responsible for purchasing on behalf of the Department to present verification to the Commissioners that all statutory requirements have been met before a request for approval is presented to the Board. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 7 In conclusion, our Department performed due diligence in evaluating and initiating the purchase, but erred in piggybacki ng onto a contract that was non-compliant with State law. This error likely did not cost our taxpayers additional funds, but we recognize the importance of being compliant with bid laws. The Department views these annual audits as a part of our continuing quality improvement process meant t o improve our methods for safeguarding the citizen's dollars. Auditor’s Remarks We appreciate the District’s commitment to resolve the finding and thank the District for its cooperation and assistance during the audit. We will review the corrective action take during our next regular audit. Applicable Laws and Regulations RCW 52.14.110, Purchases and public works – Competitive bids required – Exceptions, establishes the procurement thresholds for fire protection district. RCW 39.34.030 (5)(b), Joint powers—Agreements for joint or cooperative action, requisites, effect on responsibilities of component agencies —Joint utilization of architectural or engineering services —Financing of joint projects, states that entering into a cooperative agreement does not reli eve any public agency of its responsibility imposed upon by law. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 8 RELATED REPORTS Financial Our opinion on the District’s financial statements is provided in a separate report, which includes the District’s financial statements. That report is available on our website , http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch . Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 9 INFORMATION ABOUT TH E DISTRICT King County Fire Protection District No. 4 was formed in 1939 and now operates as Shoreline Fire Department. The District serves a population of approximately 55,000 citizens within the City of Shoreline, approximately 14 square-miles. In addition, the ALS program serves the cities of Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park and a portion of Woodinville resulting in an additional population of 75,000 in an area of approximately 22 square-miles. The District provides 24 -hour coverage for fire suppression, technical rescue, emergency medical and advanced life support, fire prevention and education, fire investigations, inspections and code co mpliance to its service area. An elected, five -member Board of Commissioners governs the District. The Board appoints a Fire Chief to oversee the District ’s daily operations as well as its 120 employees. In fiscal year 2016, the District operated on an annual budget of about $24.6 million. Contact information related to this report Address: Shoreline Fire Department 17525 Aurora Avenue N. Shoreline, WA 98133 Contact: Joyce Brown, Administrative Director Telephone: (206) 533-6570 Website: www.shorelinefire.com Information current as of report publish date. Audit history You can find cur rent and past audit reports for Shoreline Fire Department at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch . Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 10 ABOUT THE STATE A UDITOR’S OFFICE The State Auditor's Office is established in the state's Constitution and is part of the executive branch of state government. The State Auditor is elected by the citizens of Washington and serves four-year terms. We work with our audit clients and citizens to achieve our vision of government that works for citizens, by helping governments work better, cost less, deliver higher value, and earn greater public trust. In fulfilling our mission to hold state and local governments accountable for the use of public resources, we also hold ourselves accountable by conti nually improving our audit quality and operational efficiency and developing highly engaged and committed employees. As an elected agency, the State Auditor's Office has the independence necessary to objectively perform audits and investigations. Our audits are designed to comply with professional standards as well as to satisfy the requirements of federal, state, and local laws. Our audits look at financial information and compliance with state, federal and local laws on the part of all local governments, including schools, and all state agencies, including institutions of higher education. In addition, we conduct performance audi ts of state agencies and local governments as well as fraud, state whistleblower and citizen hotline investigations. The results of our work are widely distributed through a variety of reports, which are available on our website and through our free, electronic subscription service. We take our role as partners in accountability seriously, and provide training and technical assistance to governments, and have an extensive quality assurance program. Contact information for the State Auditor’s Office Public Records requests [email protected] Main telephone (360) 902-0370 Toll-free Citizen Hotline (866) 902-3900 Website www.sao.wa.gov https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1020241&isFinding=false&sp=false 2026-07-30 13:24:54