Leetsdale Volunteer Fire Relief Association among those involved in state Auditor General Office's pilot program

A pilot program through the state Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor’s office has proved to cut audit time by half for the Leetsdale Volunteer Fire Relief Association.

DeFoor recently visited the borough fire department to tout the success of the Limited Procedure Engagement (LPE) pilot program after it saved two months of staff time to complete about three years’ worth of audits.

The average time to audit a fire relief association went from 119 days (just under four months) to 58 days (just under two months), according to the auditor general’s report.

“For the last six months, our audit teams have been piloting the use of (Limited Procedure Engagements) in fire relief association audits to see if we can be more effective and efficient in our practices,” 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 (volunteer fire relief associations) who need more in-depth reviews.”

The Leetsdale Volunteer Fire Relief Association has about 20 active members, including secretary Ernest Logan and treasurer John Biteler.

No averse findings were in the audit, which covered Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2022.

The relief association spent about $17,200 during that time including aclose to $8,200 on training, equipment purchases and maintenance, and just over $8,700 on insurance premiums. The audit is available through paauditor.gov.

“Everything is primo,” Biteler said about the record-keeping. “You can only spend that money on the safety of the firemen. You can’t spend it on foolishness. … You can’t go out and buy a bunch of candy bars to give out to the kids during Halloween.”

Most volunteer fire relief associations get audited every three years. Associations with audit findings may get audited more frequently.

Logan said the main difference between the Limited Procedure Engagement audit and previous audits was a lack face-to-face auditor interaction.

An auditor previously would come to the station and go over everything thoroughly.

Logan said there was only one short visit this time.

“We sent the materials up front to be audited,” Logan said. “In years gone by, they spent a day or multiple days going step-by-step. It’s probably a little harder on us, but it’s easier on them (to do it this way). Instead of just having everything at the station waiting for them to review it, you have to make copies and package it up.”

Biteler has been involved in Leetsdale’s volunteer fire relief associations for about 20 years, including the last 14 as treasurer.

He said he does not mind the Limited Procedure Engagement process or prolonged station audits.

“It doesn’t matter to me. I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I’m good with anything. If it saves the taxpayers some money, I’m for that.”

There were 32 volunteer fire relief associations included in the pilot program. Audits were worked on by a team within the Bureau of Fire Relief Audits from August 2023 to February.

The bureau saved an average of 61 days per audit, according to the auditor general’s report.

“Since 2021, we have been transforming and modernizing our department through technology upgrades and investments in our workforce,” 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.”

Logan shook hands with DeFoor during his visit to the station Feb. 15.

“I never met him before, so, it was kind of neat,” Logan said. “It was good to be recognized for the good work that we’re doing.”

State Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, and state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Aleppo, also participated in the visit.

“It was nice to see they were recognized for being an efficient association and that they got their books right,” Gaydos said. “Having an auditor general that is focused on getting the information right to make (volunteer fire relief associations’) lives easier as opposed to being adversarial, that should be commended.

“Government is supposed to be working for the people, and to have the auditor general cooperating and working with these relief associations is a good thing.”

The auditor general’s department distributes state aid for volunteer fire relief associations and audits how they use the money, which are generated by a 2% tax on fire insurance policies sold in Pennsylvania by out-of-state companies.

About $67.44 million went to 2,519 municipalities for distribution to volunteer fire relief associations last year to provide training, purchase equipment and insurance, and pay for death benefits for volunteer firefighters.

Relief associations are separate legal entities from the fire departments they support.