Lower Frederick Fire Co. Photo by James Short.
Lower Frederick Fire Company Relief Association of the Township of Lower Frederick had a perfect compliance audit for the period from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2022, announced the Pennsylvania Auditor General last week.
The state Department of the Auditor General is required by law to audit volunteer fire relief associations and municipal pension plans that receive state aid through the department. According to a news release, the department also audits liquid fuels tax usage by municipalities, and general county and state government offices.
Lower Frederick was one of 38 volunteer firefighters’ relief associations audited in 23 counties, including Montgomery and Bucks.
The state aid for VFRA is generated by a 2% tax on fire insurance policies sold in the state by companies from out of state, per the Auditor General. VFRAs then use the funds for training, equipment purchases, insurance costs, and to cover death benefits for volunteer firefighters.
If VFRAs do not comply, per the state, then future state aid can be withheld. All relief associations are separate entities from their respective supported fire departments.
We were not able to obtain an independent confirmation of the cash balance directly from the financial institution. Therefore, while the relief association provided bank statements that indicated that, as of December 31, 2022, the relief association had a cash balance of $62,513, we were not able to verify this cash balance,” wrote Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor in the audit.
Lower Frederick Relief Association was allocated state aid from Lower Frederick Township and Schwenksville Borough, per the audit. In 2020, 2021 and 2022, Lower Frederick allocated $31,559, $28,022 and $34,552 to the relief association, respectively.
In the same years, Schwenksville Borough allocated $7,096, $6,321, and $7,450 to the relief association, per the audit.
The relief association reported its cash, as of Dec. 31, 2022, as $62,513, per the audit.
Between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2022, the relief association spent a total of $109,992, according to the report. Some of the highlights of expenditures are $69,886 for new equipment, $26,944 for insurance premiums, and $5,210 for training expenses.
The Lower Frederick Fire Company Relief Association governing body is President Kris Alexander, Vice President Christopher Melville, Secretary Alec Hoffman, and Treasurer Charles Jack.
