State Auditor's Working Group (December 2022 Meetings)

The Volunteer Fire Relief Association Working Group convened by the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) met on December 7 and December 14. The Working Group members approved draft language for inclusion in its slate of 2023 legislation that would increase the threshold at which an annual audit is required. Currently, an annual audit is required after a relief association exceeds $500,000 in either special fund assets or liabilities. The Working Group proposal would increase the audit threshold to $750,000.

Draft language making a technical clarification to the annual investment report certification was also approved for inclusion in the Working Group Bill.

The Working Group discussed whether relief associations should have authority to set different benefit levels for members who provide different types of services with the affiliated fire department, for example emergency medical services. This topic will be revisited next year for further discussion and consideration.

Working Group members discussed the timing of when, and how frequently, relief associations with a defined contribution plan should prepare allocation tables to value member accounts, and reviewed draft definitions of firefighter types. The firefighter definitions will be considered further during the January meeting.

Meeting agendas and information are available on the Working Group page of the OSA website. Meetings are live-streamed on the OSA’s YouTube channel, and recordings are available on the OSA website following each meeting.

Published last in the December 2022 Pension Newsletter