York County volunteer fire relief association can't account for $9,835: Auditor General

Teresa Boeckel, York Daily Record
·2 min read

A local volunteer firefighter relief association spent $9,835 in undocumented expenditures, according to the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General.

The Voluntary Relief Association of Community Fire Company, No.1 of York New Salem was one of four associations in Pennsylvania that could not account for state funds during audits, a news release states.

“These VRFA’s couldn’t account for a combined $76,611 that was meant to support local firefighters,” Auditor General Timothy DeFoor said in the release. “Our auditors found significant issues with each of these VFRAs that could lead to the possible future withholding of funds. They still have the opportunity to correct these errors and implement our audit recommendations to make sure they do not lose funding.”

The department distributes aid, which comes from a 2 percent tax on fire insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies, and audits how the associations use the funds, a news release states. The money can be used for training, equipment and insurance, and paying for death benefits for volunteer firefighters.

The relief associations are separate from the fire companies they support, the release states.

What the audit report found

According to the news release, the June 2023 audit report of the Voluntary Relief Association of Community Fire Company, No.1 of York New Salem found:

  • Unauthorized expenditures

  • Failure to maintain surety (fidelity) bond coverage

  • Inadequate financial record-keeping system

  • Failure to maintain a Pennsylvania sales tax exemption number

  • Untimely receipt and deposit of state aid

  • Failure to conduct annual physical equipment inventories

  • Failure to maintain a complete and accurate membership roster

  • Inadequate signatory authority for the disbursement of funds

The time period involved Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2021, the report states.

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Auditor general recommends the money be reimbursed to the relief association

Some of the undocumented expenditures included training, maintenance and a payment to an out-of-state fire company, the report states. Officials with the relief association said the transactions were made prior to the current officer's terms, and they could not explain why they occurred.

The auditor general's office recommended that the relief association provide supporting documentation, such as invoices and/or itemized receipts, or that the $9,835 be reimbursed to the relief association, the report states.

The relief association management agreed with the finding, the report states. They said a spending freeze would be placed on the account until the money is reimbursed.

The audit also noted $2,655 in unauthorized expenditures, and the auditor general's office recommended that this amount be reimbursed to the association. The relief association management said they would comply with the recommendation.

Andrew Martin, president of the relief association, could not be reached for comment.

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This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York New Salem PA fire relief assoc. can't account for $9,835: auditor