The Office of the State Auditor released audits of the Unified Fire Authority and the Unified Fire Service Area.
The UFSA audit includes 12 findings indicating either policy or legal failures within the organization. The UFA audit identifies 52 findings, grouped in the following 3 categories:
1. Former Chief and Deputy Chief Put Personal Interests Over Organization Interests
2. Board Failed to Provide Proper Oversight
3. UFA Experienced Operational Weaknesses
UFSA is a “local district”, which includes Eagle Mountain, Herriman, Midvale, Riverton, Taylorsville and the unincorporated area of Salt Lake County. UFSA’s primary function is levying taxes to (1) fund fire and emergency services for its service area and (2) finance the construction of fire stations within its service area. UFSA pays UFA to provide fire and emergency services directly to their member entities.
UFA is an “interlocal entity” that provides fire and emergency services to each of its member entities, which include UFSA plus four additional cities, Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, and Holladay.
The reports may be found on the Office’s website, auditor.utah.gov. The UFA report is available specifically at http://financialreports.utah.gov/saoreports/2017/SSVF-17-SPaUFAUnifiedFireAuthority.pdf and the UFSA report is available specifically at http://financialreports.utah.gov/saoreports/2017/SSVF-17-SPbUFSAUnifiedFireServiceArea.pdf.
