After a city audit revealed a flawed inventory system, the Wilmington Fire Department is venturing into new territory: technology. For the first time, the department is working to track its equipment in digital form rather than paper. "We have a large amount of assets," said Fire Chief Michael Donohue, who was appointed in January.
The 2015 audit, obtained by The News Journal, showed that poor record keeping, insufficient controls and outdated tracking systems could put the department at risk of "undetected theft and loss, unexpected shortages of critical items, and unnecessary purchases of items already on hand."
Auditors tried to find 11 fixed assets from the fire department's inventory lists. Seven were not present in their assigned location, the audit said. None of them could be traced to the finance department's fixed asset list.