Leetsdale, Pa. – Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor today joined members of the Leetsdale Volunteer Fire Relief Association (VFRA), State Sen. Devlin Robinson and State Rep. Val Gaydos to announce the department’s Limited Procedure Engagement (LPE) Pilot Program has saved two months of staff time to complete these audits, from an average of 119 days down to 58 days.
“For the last six months, our audit teams have been piloting the use of LPEs in fire relief association audits to see if we can be more effective and efficient in our practices,” Auditor General DeFoor said. “The answer is a resounding yes. By focusing the department’s resources on areas of greater need, we’re giving the taxpayers who pay for our services more bang for the buck. Using LPEs allows our team to shift resources to those VFRAs who need more in-depth reviews.”
During the pilot program, a designated team within the Bureau of Fire Relief Audits conducted a series of 32 audits from August 2023 to February 2024 using LPEs. By utilizing LPEs, the bureau saved an average of 61 days per audit. These new procedures also significantly helped reduce the average number days our auditors spent conducting field work, from 45 days to 25 days.
“Since 2021, we have been transforming and modernizing our department through technology upgrades and investments in our workforce,” Auditor General DeFoor said. “We selected the Leetsdale VFRA to be part of this pilot because the leaders here have worked hard to follow the guidelines, had audits with no findings and when there have been findings, have successfully corrected the issues.”
There were 32 VFRAs included in the pilot program. To qualify as part of the pilot, the VFRAs had to meet a series of criteria that assess the level of risk of findings. VFRAs were selected by the audit team. The department is also piloting LPEs in two other bureaus, County Audits and Municipal Pension Audits.
The department distributes state aid for VFRAs and audits how they use the funds, which are generated by a 2% tax on fire insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies. In 2023, $67.44 million went to 2,519 municipalities for distribution to VFRAs to provide training, purchase equipment and insurance, and pay for death benefits for volunteer firefighters.
VFRAs may have future state aid withheld if they do not comply with applicable state laws, contracts, bylaws and administrative procedures. Relief associations are separate legal entities from the fire departments they support.
The department is required by law to audit volunteer fire relief associations and municipal pension plans that receive state aid through the department; liquid fuels tax usage by municipalities; various county offices and numerous other state government entities.
View the Leetsdale Fire Department Firemen’s Relief Association audit and other audit reports at www.PaAuditor.gov/audit-reports, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Media contact: April Hutcheson, 717-787-1381 or news@paauditor.gov
EDITOR’S NOTE: The list of VFRAs included in the pilot program by county is below. Additionally, pictures and video from this event can be found on pacast.com.
Adams
Fountaindale VRFA
Allegheny
Forest Hills VFRA
Frazer Township No. 1 VFRA
Leetsdale VRFA
Millvale VFRA
Monroeville VFRA
Berks
Earl Township VFRA
Shartsville VFRA
Strausstown VFRA
Carbon
East Penn Township VFRA
Clearfield
Karthaus VFRA
Chester
Kennet Square VFRA
Columbia
Catawissa VRFA
Dauphin
Carsonville VFRA
Hummelstown VFRA
Lower Paxton VFRA
Lykens VFRA
Middletown VFRA
Pillow VFRA
Swatara Township VFRA
Lackawana
Covington VFRA
Lebanon
Annville Area VFRA
Lawn VFRA
McKean
Lafayette Township VFRA
Montgomery
Upper Merion VFRA
Whitemarsh Township VFRA
Schuylkill
Branchdale VFRA
Butler Township VFRA
Giradville VFRA
Mahanoy City VFRA
Newtown VFRA
Washington
Charleroi VFRA