A New York fire district is facing an unusual problem: what to do with a $5.2 million undesignated surplus uncovered in a state audit.
The headache (to the extent a surplus can be a headache) belongs to the Brentwood Fire District, on Long Island. The surplus was uncovered by the state of New York’s Office of State Comptroller, who cited the district for unsound budgeting practices.
The audit, issued in December, 2012, contains a list of recommendations for the district, including improvements in budget development, tighter controls over credit card expenditures, improvements in ethics monitoring, and better controls over managing their LOSAP.
Michael Poveromo, chairman of the BFD’s Board of Fire Commissioners, was quoted by Newsday.com as saying “There was a reserve fund we had for [renovating] outlying firehouses. … They were wondering why we had so much money put aside.” He also said “We’ve taken a lot of their recommendations seriously, and we’re continually working on their recommendations as of today,”
Here is the auditors report. brentwood