Timber Mesa announce audit results

Auditor Lydia Hunter said the audit serves as “a deeper dive into the fire district’s internal controls and accounting for grant revenues and expenditures.”

TMFMD stated through a release, “It is remarkable to note that since the fire district’s inception in 2014, Timber Mesa has received clean audit opinions for each fiscal year. The district’s fiscal year spans from July 1 to June 30 each year.”

Outside of the annual audit, newly appointed Fire Chief Randy Chevalier also opted into an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. ACFRs are not required of fire districts, but Chevalier chose to have one completed for Timber Mesa to “provide better clarity and transparency for the residents of the fire district concerning the district’s finances,” according to the release.

The ACFR and single audits’ results have been approved in draft form. The district is now awaiting its fifth consecutive Government Finance Officers Association award for excellence in financial reporting.

“Our fire district is a government entity, funded by the taxpayers through property taxes within our boundaries,” Chevalier said. “Transparency is critical to any governmental entity, so we evaluate our finances, our internal controls, our segregation of duties and ensure that we’re following the proper procedures as described by policy and generally accepted practices.

“These audits mean we’re doing our due diligence to our tax base. We’re here to provide emergency services, but there is an associated cost with doing that, and this is one way of ensuring that or taxpayers know their dollars are going where they’re supposed to go and only being used for what they’re supposed to be used for.”

TMFMD Division Chief Darren Cluff said, “It’s really a testament to our staff, so big thanks go out to them. The five members of our fire board do an excellent job of setting budgets, providing oversight and helping us execute on that as best we can.

“We have 112 sworn positions here who answered roughly 8,200 calls over the course of the audit’s timeline: about 22 to 25 calls per day. Achieving these kinds of results doesn’t happen unless they’re all on the same page.”

In the release, Chevalier stated, “TMFMD has a proud history of fiscal responsibility and transparency for our community. This is a tradition that I will ensure continues into our future.”