Delaware Volunteer Fire Service Fiscal Year 2020 Special Report

The purpose is to present fair and independent data which resulted to shine a light on cost savings that result from having volunteer fire services and to acknowledge the importance of volunteer firefighters in Delaware. State Auditor McGuiness presents recommendations on internal controls and fraud, waste and abuse information as part of the annual Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association Conference. The conference was cancelled this year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Auditors Office distributed an internal control survey to each VFC instead, and those results and recommendations are included in this report to help VFCs reduce risk in key areas. We appreciate the spirit of cooperation embodied in those responses and hope the VFCs welcome the recommendations as an opportunity to further improve their internal controls. We previously conducted targeted investigations of specific entities where fraud, waste and abuse have occurred. These investigations found many internal control failures. In 2016, the Auditors Office was part of the 2016 Fire Task Force to help entities prevent future fraud by taking actions to improve their internal controls. The VFCs were provided with a comprehensive list of internal control best practices and oversight responsibility was emphasized to help guide the administrative personnel in designing and implementing an effective control environment. What Was Found? This year, the Auditors Office estimated that the Delaware volunteer fire service saved the state taxpayers over $244 million for fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. Recommendations Include: Approvals and purchase limits, inventory management, and organizational structure.