Bend, Ore. — As proponents push to expand the Alfalfa Fire District’s boundaries farther east into Crook County to include the rural Juniper Acres area, records obtained by the Prineville Review show the district is once again facing possible dissolution over multiple years of missing financial reports — marking a repeating issue under Chief Chad LaVallee’s leadership requiring the State and County intervention over audit compliance.
In a June 9th, 2025 letter, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Audits Division notified the district that it had failed to file annual financial reports for fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024. If the reports were not submitted by June 30, 2025, the office said it would formally request the Deschutes County Commission begin dissolution proceedings under ORS 198.335 to 198.365.
That letter followed a nearly identical warning sent just a year earlier, in May 2024, covering four prior years of missing reports (2020–2023). A 2022 notice from state officials shows that the district was already delinquent for 2019 through 2021, prompting the state to direct Deschutes County to initiate dissolution then as well.
While the Alfalfa Fire District covers areas in both Crook and Deschutes County, its formal offices and the majority of the district currently lie in Deschutes County.
The Alfalfa Fire District failed to submit any of those reports before June 30th, prompting the division to notify the Deschutes County Commissioners in an August 12th, 2025, notice letter.
After the state’s August 2025 referral, Deschutes County Legal Counsel David Doyle wrote to Chief LaVallee warning that failure to act immediately could compel the county to dissolve the district.
“Our assumption is that your district does not wish to be dissolved,” Doyle wrote, “however, if your district does not come into some level of compliance soon … the county will initiate formal dissolution proceedings.”
Doyle also wrote to LaVallee saying, “This is a serious matter and requires your immediate attention.”
In his reply, LaVallee said he was the only person handling administrative work, claiming that wildfire responses and call volume delayed filings. He said the district had hired Accuity CPAs (a firm based in Albany, Ore.) and was working on back reports dating to 2022. The full email exchange between Doyle and LaVallee was also obtained by the Prineville Review.
He also appeared to downplay the warnings from state and county officials. “We have been in contact with both the county as well as the state during the whole process and have given them updates as we get them,” said LaValle. “We are not aware of any intent to move forward with any dissolution proceedings as this is usually not common if Districts are actively working on getting the needed filings caught up.”
LaVallee then told Doyle and the Oregon Secretary of State on September 22nd that Accuity had finished the review for fiscal year 2022. However, as of now, that report has yet to be filed, according to LaVallee himself. When asked if any of the reports had been filed, LaVallee told the Prineville Review nearly the same thing.
“Yes, Accuity has completed another year and that should be filed shortly,” said LaValle.
LaVallee then appeared to imply that the timelines were solely dependent on Accuity. “As far as the current status, Accuity CPA is working diligently on completing the needed reports to get the district caught up. We cannot speak to their timelines as those would need to be discussed directly with them,” LaVallee stated.
Accuity could not be reached for comment, but it is unlikely the firm would be permitted to disclose such details directly to us.
We also reached out to the Deschutes County Commissioners for their take on the situation. Commissioner Phil Chang wrote, “Frequently when small taxing districts receive these notices from the Secretary of State the district is motivated to remedy the reporting deficiencies and the problem is remedied. I’m operating on the assumption that Alfalfa will do that, but will be tracking if that doesn’t happen.”
The district’s financial struggles are not new — nor are the controversies surrounding its leadership.
In a January 2024 report by our media partners at KTVZ News, former volunteers and community members accused Chief LaVallee of improper spending and OSHA safety violations, including the use of a 16-year-old in a training exercise. It also raised potential ethics concerns after it was discovered LaValle’s wife was hired and being compensated by the district for administrative work despite questions over whether the hiring complied with state ethics and procurement rules.
LaVallee said at the time that his wife was only offered the position after it was passed over by others in the district, according to KTVZ. It was not clear if the district had also been restricting hiring to only residents in the district, which could also likely conflict with hiring standards for a public body.
The revelations prompted several volunteers to resign and heightened scrutiny from both the public and county officials.
Those issues have resurfaced as supporters of the district lobby to expand its boundary into Crook County’s Juniper Acres area — a community that currently lacks formal fire protection.
Critics argue that repeated financial non-compliance and unresolved ethics questions call into question the district’s readiness to assume additional responsibility or manage a larger tax base.
Despite multiple lapses, state officials have said their priority remains helping the district come into compliance. “My primary interest is in helping the district comply so it can focus on the critical services provided to its residents,” wrote Municipal Audit Manager Amy John in both 2024 and 2025 letters to the district’s board.
Whether that happens — or whether the Alfalfa Fire District once again faces formal dissolution — now depends on the district’s leadership.
The Prineville Review could not immediately confirm if LaVallee has kept the Board of Directors advised of the issues. None of the district’s recent board meeting agendas listed any discussion by the AFD Board regarding the possible dissolution.
No members of the Alfalfa Fire District Board responded to our requests for comment before publication. We will update this story if responses are received shortly after.
The Prineville Review has previously submitted public meetings grievances over several repeated violations of Oregon’s public meetings law when we first started looking into numerous issues raised about the special district. The district ultimately admitted to those violations earlier this year and took corrective action on address the issues. Those grievances were not escalated to formal complaints.
This is a developing story we will keep you updated on.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject mater expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
