$6.3 Million Windfall: Audit Of Cash-Strapped Fire District Finds Forgotten Cash

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA - An audit of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District's finances uncovered an additional $6.2 million, prompting an assemblyman to put a hold Monday on a bill to get money to the district.

The district serves Brentwood, Oakley and Discovery Bay.

Fire protection district officials announced the discovered funds Monday following an audit accepted by the district's board of directors Aug. 7.

At a meeting at 3 p.m. Monday, the board planned to receive a proposed final budget for fiscal year 2017-18, which includes the extra $6.2 million. The starting balance in that budget is $10.13 million, which includes the discovered $6.2 million. The budget forecasts revenue of just over $15 million with expenses of $14.2 million and an ending balance of just under $11 million.

Board President Joel Bryant said in a statement that the windfall is not a long-term solution to the district's financial problems. Those problems have left the district with three fire stations to serve 249 square miles and 115,000 residents. Frazier said in a statement the discovery "raises some very troubling questions" because the district did not know about the money "when it had repeatedly asked residents to increase their taxes to pay for improved fire service."

The audit is three years overdue, according to Frazier.

Bryant said, "This is a frustrating situation for all involved, but it would be much worse if the district had lower-than-expected funds rather than higher."

The unreported money dates back to late 2014 and early 2015 when the county stopped handling the district's money and stopped providing financial services for the district. City of Brentwood staff took over those services and the district opened a bank account with Bank of the West. Interim Fire Chief Brian Helmick said in a memo to the district's board and finance committee Monday that the mistake is due in part to "insufficient administrative staffing for years, relying on just one fire chief and one administrative assistant."

Helmick said "both of whom were dramatically overworked." He also said having Brentwood employees take over the provision of financial services was a complex process and contributed to the mistake.

Frazier authored AB 898 as a way to identify money "to improve fire safety and emergency medical response - a solution that did not rely in any way on raising taxes." Frazier said he is still open to helping the fire district in any way he can when he knows more about what the audit found, what future mandated audits may find, "in order to evaluate and reassess the district's financial situation."

— Bay City News contributed to this report; Image via Shutterstock

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