Section 0360-07-01-.08 - AUDIT(1) All accounts shall be subject to audit by the State Comptroller.(2) All records pertaining to the educational incentive pay shall be available for inspection by a member of the Commission or its staff and shall be kept for sixty (60) months after the educational incentive pay was issued.(3) An audit committee of the Commission, made up of the Director and a Commission Member or a Commission-approved designee, shall review the educational incentive pay records of every participating department at least once every sixty (60) months. (a) The audit committee shall present its findings to the Commission for consideration. The audit committee shall review the records of the department to ensure compliance with Commission rules, including, but not limited to:1. In-Service Training Verification Sheets are signed;2. Attendance records were properly filled out as required by rule 0360-07-01.05(5);3. Examination records were properly graded and filled out as required by rule 0360-07-01-.05(6);4. Records required by NFPA 1001, Chapter 4 are properly maintained; and5. Electronic records, if kept, are properly maintained and secured.(b) The audit committee shall make one (1) of the following recommendations to the Commission: 1. Audit was in compliance with Commission requirements;2. No action required. This recommendation is for a minor infraction. Committee counseled the department on the corrective actions needed;3. Informal Review. This recommendation is for minor infractions that the committee determines need to be reviewed to ensure corrective action was taken. This review would only encompass the areas that needed reviewing and shall be performed by the participants of the original audit;4. Probation. This recommendation is for more significant infractions. The committee shall recommend that the department be audited again for a period ranging from twelve (12) months to thirty-six (36) months; or5. Formal Hearing. The Committee has information that a major violation of the Commission's rules or state statute may have occurred, and a hearing for formal disciplinary action under the Commission's rules, regulations and policies is justified.(c) When making its report to the Commission, the Committee may make any additional comments and recommendations which are appropriate, but the above general guidelines are to be used. The Commission or Commission's designee shall send each audited department a copy of the completed audit report.(4) Commission staff and Commission members may conduct unannounced visits to departments' training classes. The visit shall not disrupt the training session; however, information may be solicited from the participants and/or instructor during a break or after the class. Documentation shall be completed about the visit and filed with that department's In-Service Training Program for that year. If training is not being conducted as scheduled, that department will be invited to the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting to offer an explanation.(5) All new fire departments entering into the incentive pay program shall be audited in the first (1st) year of their participation in the program.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0360-07-01-.08
Original rule filed August 27, 1979; effective October 10, 1979. Amendment filed November 8, 1990; effective December 23, 1990. Amendment filed December 14, 2009; effective March 14, 2010. Repeal and new rule filed October 27, 2014; effective January 25, 2015. Amendments filed July 27, 2018; effective October 25, 2018. Emergency rules filed September 2, 2021; effective through March 1, 2022. Emergency rules expired effective March 2, 2022, and the rules reverted to their previous statuses. Amendments filed August 29, 2022; effective 11/27/2022.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-24-101, 4-24-106, and 4-24-107.