N.Y. Town Law § 181-b: Independent audit of fire districts

§ 181-b. Independent audit of fire districts. 1. The commissioner of

each fire district with revenues of four hundred thousand dollars or

more shall obtain an annual audit of its records by an independent

certified public accountant or an independent public accountant. The

report of such annual audit shall be presented to the fire district

board of fire commissioners by such accountant. Such fire district audit

shall include, but not be limited to, the district's financial

conditions and resources and such other things as the state comptroller

may designate. A copy of the audit report in form prescribed by the

state comptroller and certified by the accountant, shall be furnished to

the commissioners, the town boards served by the district and the state

comptroller within one hundred eighty days following the end of the

fiscal year audited.

2. The commissioner of each fire district with revenues of less than

four hundred thousand dollars shall report the district's financial

conditions and resources and such other things as the state comptroller

may designate on a form prescribed by him or her. A copy of such report

shall be issued to the state comptroller within one hundred eighty days

following the end of the fiscal year. The state comptroller may

designate an amount below which no report shall be required.

3. On or after January first, two thousand seven, all fire districts

subject to the provisions of subdivision one of this section shall

utilize a competitive request for proposal process when contracting for

such annual audit. In addition, no audit engagement shall be for a term

longer than five consecutive years; provided, however, that nothing in

this subdivision shall preclude a district, in its discretion, from

permitting an independent certified public accountant or an independent

public accountant engaged under an existing contract for such services

to (i) submit a proposal for such services in response to a request for

competitive proposals, or (ii) be awarded a contract to provide such

services under a request for proposal process.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph one of paragraph (b)

of subdivision four of section thirty-five of the general municipal law,

each fire district shall (i) prepare a corrective action plan in

response to any findings contained in the annual external audit report

or management letter, or any final audit report issued by the state

comptroller, within ninety days of receipt of such report or letter, and

(ii) to the extent practicable, begin implementation of such corrective

action plan no later than the end of the next fiscal year.