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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
February 13, 2002
Report No. 2002-14
The
annual review of audits of fire protection districts in St. Louis County has
been completed.� This review covered
reports for the year ended December 31, 2000.
Fire
Protection Districts in St. Louis County are required by statute to have
biennial audits performed if revenues exceed $50,000.� The State Auditor received, reviewed and accepted twenty-two
reports for the year ended December 31, 2000.�
Seven
of the 22 reports were received after the June 30, 2001, statutory deadline,
with three districts; Black Jack, Community, and Robertson being over 100 days
late. Untimely reporting has increased compared to the year ended December 31,
1999, when only 2 reports were delinquent.
In
2000, 18 of the 22 districts had increases in their General Fund balances.� The aggregate General Fund balance of all
districts increased by six percent in 2000.�
Since 1991, the General Fund balances of fire districts overall have
increased between five and fifteen percent annually.��
In
previous reviews, it was noted that several districts had large General Fund
balances in relation to expenditures.�
For 2000, seventeen districts had fund balance to expenditure ratios
greater than one which indicated the districts� fund balance was greater than
one year�s cost of operations.� Although
many districts reserved a portion of their General Fund Balance for capital
improvements and future years� operation, eight still had unreserved fund
balances greater than one year�s cost of operations.� The fire protection districts must continue to evaluate the propriety
of their tax levies to ensure that excess revenues are not being received and
accumulated.
Also included in the report are specific recommendations made by the independent auditors to improve the overall management of the fire districts.� These recommendations included concerns regarding revenues and expenditure procedures, various accounting records and procedures, investments and pensions, fixed assets, pledged securities, unclaimed property, budget, payroll and employee benefits.� The individual districts should review all the recommendations and their applicability to their district.
