The Big Indian-Oliverea Fire District said it’s on track to submit a plan by Christmas to address concerns raised by a state audit about inadequate oversight and procedural missteps in its financial operations and commissioner training, even as officials push back on findings they said were too narrowly focused.

The state comptroller’s report, released in late September, cited a lack of consistency with required processes, planning, and documentation. It didn’t allege fraud. It gave the district, one of more than 50 fire districts audited this year, 90 days to submit a corrective action plan.

Big Indian was selected in part because of its late annual financial reporting, according to the comptroller’s office. The audit examined the board’s oversight of the district’s financial operations between Jan. 1, 2024, and April 3 of the following year. The board must send its plan to address the findings and recommendations to the comptroller’s office by Dec. 25.

“Some of it we accepted as fair enough,” said Gayle Yeomans, vice chair of the district’s board. “On other things, I think they look at it a little too narrowly as opposed to with a common sense head on. We are going to try to fix that as best we can in the realm of what’s practical.”

The report and the district’s conciliatory but defensive response underscore challenges faced by volunteer-run agencies if they run afoul of state rules. The comptroller’s office is taking a closer look at their finances as New York boosts incentives for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers. The number of volunteer firefighters has dropped by about a third in the past two decades.

“There are important lessons to learn,” said Ulster County Comptroller March Gallagher, who wasn’t involved in the audit. “Big Indian has struggled with finding new members. They lost a lot of institutional knowledge through the passage of time. Once you have these systems set up, it’s easier to keep them running.”

Even so, Gallagher said she was disappointed by the district’s defensive posture in its response to the audit.

“It’s so much better if an auditee can accept the findings and say they are going to do better,” she said. “To a lay person it reads really harshly, but the response makes it harsher. I find these are typical findings for small districts across the state.”

The state comptroller’s office understands that volunteer fire districts, which provide essential emergency services, often operate with limited administrative resources, said Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the agency.

“Our audits are provided at no cost to fire districts and are intended to identify opportunities to strengthen financial practices, promote transparency and accountability and help officials fulfill their responsibilities,” he said.

Some of the state’s feedback was helpful, Yeomans said. Still, the board reviews financial information in detail each month and knows where things stand, she said. Treasurer Stephanie Pearlman, who isn’t a board member, earns $3,000 a year, a salary that doesn’t reflect the amount of time she puts into the job, Yeomans said.

“It’s very demanding and I don’t even know if she makes minimum wage,” Yeomans said. “Everybody’s intentions are good. Everybody tries to do what they can. Sometimes they don’t always match up.”

Another issue is that first-responder teams across the state are struggling to attract new recruits amid mounting financial pressure and societal change.

“We are seeing volunteer recruitment challenges throughout the state,” Gallagher said. “Younger people are working two jobs. They’re in a sandwich generation, raising kids and taking care of their parents. We are in a different culture than we were 30 or 40 years ago.”

Hoping to entice more volunteers, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation in October that will quadruple their personal income tax credits. The move raises the annual credit for individual volunteers to $800 from $200 and to $1,600 from $400 for married couples.

New Yorkers can first claim the larger credit when filing their 2027 tax returns in 2028. Eligible volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers can claim either the higher credit or a qualifying local property tax exemption.

Sean McAlindin is a contributing writer. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com.