Once again, the state criticized the local fire district’s training center, saying it was improperly using public money for some training activities.

The fire district again challenged the auditor’s conclusion.

The Washington state auditor’s office released the Clark County fire Protection District 5 audit report on Thursday, which covers 2015-2018. About half of the classes offered at the Northwest regional district training center in gardens, 11606 N.E. 66th St. No. 103, cover occupational safety for jobs like facility maintenance, construction, and utility workers.

“State law permits fire districts to conduct training only to protect life and property in terms of emergency medical care or fire prevention or suppression,” the report said. “We have reported our concerns about these offer classes to the district over the past four inspections.”

About 13 percent of students at the training center, some of whom live outside the district and work for private businesses, pay for classes that the auditor says do not fall under the district’s authority, including forklift training, traffic control, defensive driving and electrical safety. The report also said operating expenses at the center, which has three full-time employees, exceeded revenues by tens of thousands of dollars a year.

“The fees collected do not cover all the costs of providing these services; Therefore, the district uses the tax revenue to subsidize those outside its service area,” the report said. “Because the training center is engaged in unacceptable activities, the use of government dollars to support these activities is impractical.”

In the district’s response to the report, attorney Brian Snur said the” protection of life and property ” requirement under state law is not limited to fire and medical care.

“The authority of the fire district (is) to protect life and property and has never been interpreted by the courts or the attorney General in the limited manner proposed by the auditor,” the response said. “We believe that the State audit office relies on erroneous recommendations from its lawyer. It shouldn’t be a godsend at all.”

Fire district 5 does not provide emergency services directly to its residents who live North of Vancouver’s city limits, but generally within its urban area. Since 1994, the district has contracted with the Vancouver fire Department to provide emergency assistance. Under state law, the district must exist in some capacity to collect the necessary property taxes for fire protection and allow residents to elect representation.