audit_findings: 36

This data as json

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
36	wa-sao	1021303	2017-002		WA	Mason County Fire Protection District No 18	Fire Protection District	0300		not_municipal	Washington State Auditor's Office	Accountability audit — Mason County Fire Protection District No 18	Accountability	2017	2016-01-01	2017-12-31	2018-05-21	internal_controls				The District did not have adequate controls over payroll and disbursements to ensure expenditures were adequately supported and for District business	Background Mason County Fire Protection District No. 18 is located in Mason County and serves the Lake Cushman area. The District’s operating expenditures totaled about $225,000 and $250,000 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. District management is responsible for establishing effective internal controls to ensure public funds are adequately safeguarded. Description of Condition We identified the following deficiencies in internal controls: Payroll • There was not a detailed review of payments to volunteers and commissioners by someone independent of the payroll process to ensure payments were correctly calculated and adequately supported. Disbursements and credit cards • There was not a detailed review of warrants or credit card transactions by someone independent of t he disbursement process to ensure accuracy and compliance with District policy. • The District did not have a process in place to ensure adequate support was retained for all purchases and warrants paid. Cause of Condition The District staff responsible for payroll and disbursements lacked adequate training and resources to establish adequate internal controls. In addition, District management did not dedicate sufficient resources or monitoring to ensure effective internal controls were established and consistently applied. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 10 Effect of Condition Payroll The District primarily consists of volunteer firefighters who are paid, based on points earned, on a quarterly basis. In addition, Commissioners are compensated $114 for each meeting, once a month. We tested payments to volunteers and noted the District did not have records to support the four quarterly volunteer payments in 2016. We also tested eight months, or 57 meetings, for Commissioners and noted the District: • Did not have meeting activity logs for four months • Did not have adequate support for six of the meetings to verify they were for legitimate District business We also noted that Commissioners who also serve as volunteers receive compensation for responding to calls and attending drills in addition to their Commissioner compensation. The District was not able to demonstrate payments to volunteers were made with the intent to reimburse expenses; therefore, compensation to Commissioners for volunteer services might be unallowable (RCW 52.14.010). Disbursements and credit cards We reviewed 68 disbursement transactions and 29 credit card transactions and identified the following: • Four disbursement transactions, totaling $2,741, did not have adequate supporting documentation. • Eight credit card transactions , totaling $374, did not have adequate supporting documentation to ensure each purchase was allowable under state law and district policy, and that each transaction was for District use. • The District was not able to provide the 2016 December-January credit card statement. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 11 Recommendation We recommend the District: • Establish written policies and procedures for disbursements and payroll and ensure monitoring is adequate to prevent misappropriation • Ensure adequate segregation of duties and monitoring over the general and payroll disbursement processes Finally, we recommend the District ensure employees responsible for key internal controls receive adequate training to effectively perform their duties. District’s Response On December 31 st, 2016 we had a change of district secretary and then the termination of our Fire Chief on January 13 th, 2017. This all prompted considerable examination of our policies and procedures that were in place. Mason County Fire District 18 adopted many new polic ies on March 31 st, 2017. The petty cash policy was included in this grouping. The Cash receipting policy has been instituted in accordance with RCW 43.09.240 We now have a detailed review and audit of all payments made to our volunteers and procedures set in place to monitor warrants and credit card transactions. Prior to our onsite audit, most of the issues noted had been addressed. The recommendations from the State Auditor’s office regarding findings noted will be implemented where appropriate. Auditor’s Remarks We want to thank the District for its assistance throughout the audit and the steps it is taking to address the issues. The District’s status of corrective actions will be reviewed during our next audit. Applicable Laws and Regulations RCW 43.09.200 – Local government accounting; Uniform system of accounting, requires the State Auditor to prescribe the system of accounting and reporting for all local governments. The Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS) Manual, 3.1.3, Internal Control, requires each local government to establish and maintain an effective system of internal controls that provides reasonable assurance that the government will achieve its objectives. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 12 The Budgeting, Accounting, and Reporting System Manual (BARS), 3.14, Accounting Principles and Internal Control outlines the local government’s responsibility for obtaining and retention of original vouchers, receipts and other documents. RCW 43.09.2855 – Local governments; Use of credit cards requires local governments to adopt a system for the distribution of the credit cards, the authorization and control of the use of credit cards, the credit limits available on the credit cards, payment of the bills, and any other rule necessary to implement or administer the system outlined in the RCW. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 13 INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISTRICT Mason County Fire Protection District No. 18 has served the Lake Cushman area of Mason County since 1977. The District primarily consists of volunteer firefighters but does have a paid fire chief and secretary. An elected, three-member Board of Commissioners governs the District. During fiscal years 2016 and 2017, the District received approximately $350,000 in revenues , primarily from property taxes. Contact information related to this report Address: Mason County Fire Protection District No. 18 240 N. Standstill Drive S. Hoodsport, WA 98548 Contact: Mike Sexton, Fire Chief Telephone: (360) 877-9882 Information current as of report publish date. Audit history You can find current and past audit reports for Mason County Fire Protection District No. 18 at http://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch. Washington State Auditor’s Office Page 14 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 accounta ble for the use of public resources, we also hold ourselves accountable by continually 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 in dependence 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 comp liance 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 audits 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=1021303&isFinding=false&sp=false	2026-07-30 13:24:54