A state audit of the Franks­town Township Fireman’s Relief Association for 2022 and 2023 resulted in a finding of unauthorized expenditures and a finding of inadequate financial recordkeeping.

The organization accepts the validity of the findings and has made corrections to the satisfaction of the Auditor General’s office, according to Danny Walls, secretary of the association and of the Geeseytown Community Fire Company, which the association supports.

In general, the issues resulted from the association not keeping up with applicable rules changes — or perhaps in some cases forgetting those changes had been made, according to Walls.

The 22 unauthorized expenditures amounted to just over $5,000 — with approximately $3,400 of that going for “maintenance on a non-relief association-owned vehicle.”

That vehicle is a fire truck purchased by the township for the fire police and stocked with safety equipment.

It was not an allowable expense for the association because the association doesn’t own the truck, Walls said, noting the township owns it.

Association officials thought it was OK to use association funds to pay for maintenance on the truck because it carried the safety equipment — the purchase of which is an eligible association expense, Walls said.

But that was incorrect, he said.

The township and the fire company now pay for truck maintenance, which is proper, he said.

Transferring the truck title to the association wouldn’t have been the appropriate solution to the problem because the fire police operate under the auspices of the township, Walls said.

Other unauthorized expenses noted in the audit include the purchase of fire service fundraiser supplies and fire police patches; reimbursement for gasoline used on fire service calls by association members; and sales tax payments.

The audit recommends that the relief association be reimbursed for the unauthorized expenditures.

That makes sense because the unauthorized expenditures led to an unjustified loss of association funds, Walls said.

The fire company made that reimbursement, he said.

That also makes sense because the fire company — unlike the association — was permitted to make those expenditures in the first place, Walls said.

The shortfalls in record-keeping involved failure to keep an “accurate journal,” failure to use ledgers; a deposit error connected with funds from a closed-out association account being deposited into the fire company account not being caught in timely fashion; and documentation of expenditures and income not being readily available.

Following the rules “is not a pain,” Walls said.

“It’s very good these rules are in place, so there are no deficiencies created or questionable activity,” he said. “Our intention is always to remain above board and transparent.”

That helps assure Pennsylvania taxpayers that the money they pay to the state is used properly, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.