YELLOW SHEET
Office of the State Auditor of Missouri
Claire McCaskill
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YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri |
January 21, 2003
Report No. 2003-06
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, 2001.
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, 2001. While 5 of the 22 reports were received after the June 30, 2002, statutory deadline, untimely reporting decreased compared to prior years.
In 2001, 14 of the 22 districts had increases in their General Fund balances; however, the aggregate General Fund balance of all districts increased by only one percent. It appears the smaller increase was due to increases in salary and related costs and capital improvements.
In previous reviews it was noted that several districts had large General Fund balances in relation to expenditures. For 2001, thirteen 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, five still had unreserved fund balances greater than one year’s cost of operations. While fire protection districts have improved in this area, they 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 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.