Local Audits in Pennsylvania Easier To Find, Understand

By Anthony Hennen of The Center Square
Republished with added content by Travels With The Post

(The Center Square) — The Pennsylvania Auditor’s Office says a mid-August (2024) update to its website is making public audit reports and information easier to find and understand.

The improvement comes following Auditor General Timothy DeFoor’ has released’s release of dozens of audits this summer. “It’s now easier than ever to search our site for information on audits, volunteer firefighter relief associations, municipal pension plans,” and other items, DeFoor said in a press release.

Travels With The Post, which tested the site’s search engine, quickly discovered audits conducted this year in the Montgomery County boroughs of Pottstown and Red Hill, and townships of Lower Salford, Upper Salford, Limerick, Lower Frederick, West Pottsgrove, Skippack, Marlborough, and Douglass. See the full list, which appears in dated order (most recent to earliest) below.

“This is another step we’re taking to transform and modernize our department,” DeFoor adds.

The upgrade is designed “with Pennsylvania taxpayers in mind,” according to DeFoor. It intends to better show the public how “tax dollars are being spent, to be able to hold state and county government accountable.” It reportedly offers new tools and resources: a clickable county map, a better search function, and open job listings.

DeFoor’s office releases 4,000 audits annually. More than 50,000 audits are currently available online. During July and August, the auditor released 36 audits for volunteer firefighter relief associations across 24 counties, and 43 audits of municipal and police pension plans across 15 counties.

Audits conducted locally so far this year

So far in 2024, the Auditor General’s search engine shows, his office conducted local audits for the:

• Lower Salford Township Defined Contribution Pension Plan (audit period ended Dec. 31, 2023);
• Lower Salford Township Non-Uniformed Pension Plan (audit period ended Dec. 31, 2023);
• Lower Salford Township Police Pension Plan (audit period ended Dec. 13, 2023);
• Upper Salford Volunteer Firemen’s Relief Association (audit period Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• Limerick Township Non-Uniformed Employees Pension Plan (Audit Period Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2023);
• Limerick Township Police Pension Plan (audit period Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2023);
• Lower Frederick Fire Company Relief Association (audit period Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• West Pottsgrove Township Firemen’s Relief Association (audit period Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2023);
• Skippack Township Liquid Fuels Tax Fund (for the period Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• Marlborough Township Liquid Fuels Tax Fund (for the period Jan. 1, 2022, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• Pottstown Borough Liquid Fuels Tax Fund (for the period Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• Red Hill Borough Liquid Fuels Tax Fund (for the period Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2022);
• Douglass (Montgomery) Township Non-Uniformed Pension Plan (audit period Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2022); and
• Douglass (Montgomery) Township Police Pension Plan (audit period Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2022).

Most audits don’t find criminal behavior or dramatic errors. However, they can discover underpayments and overpayments of state aid for city pensions. Municipal officials tend to blame sloppy paperwork, staff turnover, and misinterpretations of the law for the mistakes.

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