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Investigation continues into Kingston fire that displaced 11 people

Letter to the Editor: Ties between Crime Watch and Wilkes-Barre police strengthened by Mayor Tony George

<p>Thankfully, it appears the Wilkes-Barre Township Volunteer Fire Company is back on the right path to serving and representing the residents of the municipality properly &#8211; both financially and in times of emergencies.</p><p>Due to the work of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, the person who caused problems for years has been relieved of his duties so a new team of dedicated volunteers can manage the fire company and avoid any future financial issues.</p><p>The situation in Wilkes-Barre Township illustrates the need to make every attempt to prevent all Voluntary Emergency Services Organizations (VESOs) and the people they serve from being the victims of financial mismanagement, both intentional and unintentional. The misappropriation of funds from volunteer organizations casts a public shadow over the entity and causes the people it serves to lose trust in it as well.</p><p>There should be efforts to keep an unacceptable situation from festering and growing worse year after year. Even though public reports of what occurred within this fire department are accurate, there are activities within VESOs and affiliated nonprofits in Pennsylvania that might not be obvious to most people unless they have been intimately involved in operations.</p><p>In the Wilkes-Barre Township case, there were two nonprofit organizations related to fire protection: the volunteer fire company and the volunteer firefighters&#8217; relief association. Most fire protection is set up this way in the Keystone State. State money flows through the municipality to one or both entities. The commonwealth requires the records and transactions of each be kept separate from each other. The state auditor general is required to audit the records of the 1,915 relief associations in Pennsylvania &#8211; but only the relief associations, not the volunteer fire companies.</p><p>In the end, the missing money in Wilkes-Barre Township was discovered &#8211; and ultimately a person was convicted and sent to prison &#8211; because the fire department&#8217;s and relief association&#8217;s funds were commingled without proper documentation. Otherwise, the auditor general would not have been able to settle the financial mess.</p><p>The point here is simple: The state does not require audits of VESOs, even though so many have suffered from financial mismanagement or outright thievery by volunteers. The state has made provisions for the affiliated firefighters&#8217; relief associations to be audited by the auditor general, but not the fire companies.</p><p>In comparison, the Delaware Office of the Auditor of Accounts &#8211; the equivalent of Pennsylvania&#8217;s auditor general &#8211; audits every volunteer fire company in The First State and, therefore, discovers irregularities in a relatively short time. It is time our own legislators require the auditor general to audit VESOs &#8211; much as it does with affiliated relief associations, especially when you consider how many people in the state are protected by VESOs. Most of these volunteer organizations cannot afford to engage a CPA firm to perform an annual independent external audit.</p><p>Until lawmakers authorize the auditor general to audit VESOs, every emergency service organization that does not have an audit performed by a CPA should establish in its bylaws an annual internal audit function.</p><p>The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is also doing what it can to address the shortage of audits by working with the College of Professional Studies and Social Sciences at Misericordia University. My students and I have been asked by the department to draft a set of internal controls, including an internal audit function for a new volunteer fire company in the western part of the state, after reviewing our free <a href="http://www.misericordia.edu/page.cfm?p=1478" target="_blank">Internal Controls and Federal Tax Exemption Basics for All-Volunteer Organizations Resource Manual</a>.</p><p>The new volunteer organization in western Pennsylvania will have to implement controls in order to receive a state grant for which it has applied. This pilot program is the first step in hopefully requiring all VESOs to enact similar internal controls in order to be eligible to receive DCED grants.</p><p>These are positive steps, but I urge all VESOs to have an internal audit process in place or be audited by a CPA.</p><p>Misericordia University remains committed to assisting VESOs establish their own sets of internal controls for the betterment of everyone involved. To continue moving in the right direction, please contact us at fcroop@misericordia.edu.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Fred J. Croop</p><p>Contributing columnist</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Fred J. Croop is the dean of the College of Professional Studies and Social Sciences at Misericordia University in Dallas Township.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Fred J. Croop: Reduce theft among Pennsylvania’s volunteer emergency service groups with mandatory state audits