Hicksville Fire District practices faulted

Hicksville Fire District commonly awarded contracts without competitive bid, maintained inadequate computer security and passed resolutions that increased the cost of a firehouse project without full disclosure, according to a new state audit.

Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's Division of Local Government & School Accountability studied the district from January 2008 to June 2009. Its report -- which the district disputed -- was released Monday.

Auditors said the board of fire commissioners didn't have a comprehensive policy for soliciting professional services. Of the seven most lucrative contracts awarded, four were without bids, totaling $582,000 for architects, attorneys, and medical and fire inspection.

While the district isn't legally required to always seek bids, competition "provides taxpayers with the greatest assurance that services are procured in the most prudent economical manner and without favoritism," auditors wrote.

Fire officials said they don't believe the kinds of specialized contracts they seek are amenable to a bid process seeking the lowest price.

"The board considers requests for proposals for these types of services to be a waste of [its] limited time . . . since in the end the board will select the best-qualified rather than the cheapest professional firm," district board chairman William Thunell wrote in a formal response to the audit.

Thunell also disputed the state's findings that Hicksville Fire District, which covers 41,000 residents over nearly 7 square miles, withheld important information from firehouse construction resolutions. Three resolutions that increased the project's cost by $1.6 million didn't mention the first $3.5 million authorization.

But Thunell said law doesn't require that cost increase resolutions also recap prior expenses, noting that proper legal notice was always provided.

"Suggesting that the public was in some way misled as to the total cost of the project ignores the fact that this project was one of the most publicized projects in Hicksville or any other community," he wrote.

The audit also found that in 2008 and 2009 officials didn't have a comprehensive computer security policy, including a way to track users and procedures to address data recovery.

Thunell said the district is developing a written computer policy, but has already instituted network-wide virus protection, a firewall that logs any intrusion attempts and a recovery system that includes running a duplicate server.