The Washington State Auditors Office has released a report detailing issues at the Manson Fire District – and, although it did not come out all sunshine and roses for the district, it wasn’t flawless.

 

The audit, released February 11, identified deficiencies considered to be material weaknesses, stemming from the District’s Assistance to Firefighters Federal Grant.

The $750 thousand grant, sought by District 5 Fire Chief, Arnold Baker, came from the US department of Homeland Security, was used to build a simulcast microwave communication system that would eliminate lost signals from emergency personnel to RiverCom.

The weaknesses, found in the recent audit, are deemed by both the Fire district and the Auditors Office as a minor infraction.

 

Federal Law requires an audit anytime local agencies have Federal money shuffling through to ensure that the money is going where it is supposed to go and doing what it’s supposed to do.

 

Matt Miller, Deputy State Auditor, told KOZI that in the Manson Fire 5 audit, one particular item caught the attention of state auditors, resulting in a “finding”.

 

According to the District’s response – which was included in the audit report- Manson Fire 5 district staff requested a review of the grant agreement in the Wenatchee office of Washington State Auditor’s Office- and given the opportunity, no advice about prevailing wage, or any other issues was offered by the auditors office- despite efforts for full compliance in all aspects of the grant by the district.

 

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