If a local government received less than $10 million in CSLFRF funds, it may take the 128, 40064-40068. ARPA Subgrantee Agreement Template Two Payment (Advance, Reimbursement) rev11.3.22 (DOCX) ARPA Subgrantee Please include this language separately in the bid solicitation. The data from these documents can be combined to help make decisions about the award of future contracts. For example, you can analyze vendor performance using vendor quotations, proposal evaluations and past invoices. Process compliance audits evaluate whether the vendor is doing what it was hired to do. The record retention requirements for ARP/CSLFRF-related records are more stringent than those imposed under State law. Is it something you can collect in the future? This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or ideas about data. Protect your jurisdiction and thwart bid manipulation by: you suspect bid manipulation, contact the Office of the Inspector Generals fraud, waste and abuse hotline at (800) 322-1323. Based on theAssistance Listing: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fundsand Part 2 of theUS Treasury State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Compliance and Reporting Guidance(v3.0 February 2022) (Compliance Guide), the following UG provisions apply to the ARP/CSLFRF grant award: Most of these UG provisions impose process and internal control requirements, but some impose limitations on when, how, and for what purposes federal grant funds may be spent. For supply contracts, for example, jurisdictions should verify that the vendor delivered the correct items in good condition and in the correct quantities. A local government should craft its policies and procedures so that they can be reasonably implemented by its staff. 3. This may include justification of exigent or emergency circumstances, imminent threat to public health and safety, or substantive demonstration that no alternatives were feasible. Please let us know if you have any questions! Once the audit team selects the type of audit to perform, the team must clearly prepare an audit plan and outline the expected audit procedures. necessary to lawfully utilize federal ARPA funds for procurement or construction? Treasurys implementing regulations, 31 CFR part 22, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations, Coordination of Non-discrimination in Federally Assisted Programs, 28 CFR part 42, provide for the collection of data and information from recipients (see 28 CFR 42.406). A lock icon or https:// means youve safely connected to the official website. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has brought millions in public dollars to cities, towns and other public entities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences. Ensuring that the contract structure is appropriate for the goods and/or services rendered, that prices are fair based on an independent cost or price analysis, and that a cost-plus-percentage-of-cost method is not used for federally-funded contracts. A lock icon ( The following are tools to implement this requirement: Allowable Costs/Cost Principles. Ongoing monitoring of any given subrecipient should reflect its assessed risk and include monitoring, identification of deficiencies, and follow-up to ensure appropriate remediation. Treasury intends to provide additional guidance regarding program income and the application of 2 CFR 200.307(e)(1). Every jurisdiction needs to review vendor payment requests to make sure they are accurate. A .mass.gov website belongs to an official government organization in Massachusetts. Restricting access to the submitted bids. For example, information from purchase descriptions, vendor quotations, proposal evaluation forms and invoices contain many data points. %%EOF To facilitate grant management, jurisdictions should develop clear expectations for grant programs and include this language in grant awards. Failure to implement sound grant monitoring policies that ensure proper use of ARPA funds can result in recoupment of funds by the federal government. Right-to-audit clauses should be specific, yet not overly restrictive, to allow the procuring entity the ability to interview key vendor personnel and review applicable documentation and records. Benfords Law analysis: this analysis may highlight a vendor with billing discrepancies that warrant further review. WebARPA Policy and Procedures Manual. Some online survey tools even analyze data for you. This outlier may warrant further investigation. clarified that funds made available under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) are subject to federal procurement requirements outlined in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), found at Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200 (2 CFR 200). However, the Office of the Inspector General (Office) recommends that local jurisdictions use an open, fair and competitive process to acquire automobile towing and storage services. This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic. (A) statutory restrictions under the ARPA, which include: offsetting a reduction in net tax revenue, and deposits into pension funds, and (B) other restrictions on use, which include: debt service and replenishing reserves, settlements and judgments, and general restrictions. (See Final Rule pp. Has the vendor demonstrated capacity and financial responsibility to provide the goods or services being sought? For instance, recipients should note that SLFRF funds may not be used as the non-federal share for purposes of a states Medicaid and CHIP programs because the OMB has approved a waiver from this provision as requested by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pursuant to 2 CFR 200.102 of the Uniform Guidance and related regulations. Maintaining records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. Recipients of Federal financial assistance from the Treasury are required to meet legal requirements relating to nondiscrimination and nondiscriminatory use of Federal funds. Confirm that an invoice for labor accurately reflects the time that the vendor or its employees worked. Recently in Massachusetts, a vendor offered a significant cost savings on supplies a local jurisdiction needed. If you need assistance, please contact the Office of the Inspector General. External sources are another area from which data can be gathered and used in an analysis. One of the biggest errors that an audit team can make is not adequately understanding the vendors processes, especially the transaction process. Thank you for your website feedback! The UG requirements are in addition to those imposed by the Final Rule related to project eligibility. This blog post highlights the UG requirements and provides several sample policies and other implementation tools. Identify conflicts of interest, fraudulent activities or other wrongdoing. 2. To promote accountability, ARPA includes requirements for the administration, monitoring and reporting of funds. The best way to safeguard public funds is to dedicate personnel and time to review invoices as an important component of contract administration. If procurement is only possible through non-competitive methods, municipalities will need to justify use of a non-competitive procurement process, only permissible when one of the following conditions are met: the item is below the micro-purchase threshold established by the municipality; the item is only available from a single source; the public exigency or emergency will not permit a delay from publicizing a competitive solicitation; or after solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate. Recently, our Chapter 30B hotline has received a number of calls asking whether Chapter 30B applies when a local jurisdiction pays for supplies or services with federal funds. UNC Chapel Hill Please do not include personal or contact information. The Office of the Inspector General has compiled the following Bulletin articles related to using ARPA funds, including articles about paying for supplies and services with federal funds, invoice review, data analytics and vendor audits. ARPA Expenditure Category 2.15 and 2.18 - uses of funds, procurement, and reporting requirements, including audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR 200, Subpart F (see below). WebSourcing & Procurement. If you are not checking invoices carefully against your contract terms and conditions, your jurisdiction may be paying more that it should; or, in the case of a revenue-generating contract, your jurisdiction may be receiving less than it should. Are there special requirements for capital Prior to beginning the audit, the team should provide logistical information to the vendor in order to combat potential pushback throughout the audit. Use this button to show and access all levels. Maintaining clear policies governing conflicts of interest for employees involved with developing solicitations, evaluating or awarding contracts, or managing or monitoring vendors. 3) Consider publishing all sole source requests for public notice. To ensure that the cost items within an eligible project are proper, a local government must adopt and implement an Allowable Costs and Cost Principles Policy. As an example, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides that SLFRF funds may be used to meet the non-federal match requirements of authorized Bureau of Reclamation projects and certain broadband deployment projects. Include a right-to-audit clause in grant agreements. endstream endobj startxref Any purchase of equipment or real property with SLFRF funds must be consistent with the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D. Equipment and real property acquired under this program must be used for the originally authorized purpose, unless stated otherwise by Treasury. During this session, Auditors should also be on alert for process owners who explain steps as they should be, or who respond using words such as usually, most of the time, supposed to or we try to. Commonwealth auditors should be cautious of auditees who are overly inquisitive and interested in what the audit team is looking for or why the vendor was selected for the audit. With the upcoming Project and Expenditure Report deadline fast approaching on April 30, join NACo and Government Finance Officers Association for an overview of what you need to know when it comes to reporting for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Effective audit clauses include language specific to the individual contract such as contract type, contract amount and time constraints. c. 30B, 1(d). For example, when reviewing payroll records, you notice that one employee reports working more hours than personnel have access to the building. The following is a sample policy to address any program income: Note that there are some grey areas related to how to identify program income, particularly fees for services assessed for water, sewer, or broadband assets constructed or improved with ARP/CSLFRF monies. Campus Box 3330 Recipients that receive an aggregate amount of federal financial assistance in a given fiscal year that exceeds the Single Audit threshold are subject to the requirements in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F, Audit Requirements, unless Treasury may request that recipients submit data for post-award compliance reviews, including information such as a narrative describing their Title VI compliance status. Extending the contract to include additional time may be deemed noncompetitive, because the contract expired before services began. 12. Knapp-Sanders Building Please limit your input to 500 characters. With the addition of the standard allowance, authorizing many NC local governments to expend their entire ARP/CSLFRF allocation for almost any purpose authorized by state law, counties and municipalities across the state have an even greater opportunity to make the best strategic investments for their communities with these one-time funds. Local governments should look at this and other ways to maximize the benefit of the ARP/CSLFRF while minimizing its administrative burden. Wherever practicable, such records should be collected, transmitted, and stored in open and machine-readable formats. Webprocurement can be used. Volume of transactions or business: the volume of transactions or contracts alters the risk the government assumes in doing business with the vendor. While data includes these things, data also includes things such as time sheets, bank statements, survey responses and water meter readings. Indirect costs are general overhead costs of an organization where a portion of such costs are allocable to the SLFRF award such as the cost of facilities or administrative functions like a directors office. The following is the schedule for the next several weeks. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. 179 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<598620AB2247954EBE922AD03988F6D9>]/Index[165 31]/Info 164 0 R/Length 86/Prev 341858/Root 166 0 R/Size 196/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream We now understand that the procurement requirements apply to your audit procurement regardless of the source of funds that pay the audit fees. The jurisdiction did not have any policies related to procuring services exempt from Chapter 30B and the jurisdiction did not procure automobile towing and storage services with a competitive process. As a result, your jurisdiction should consider using a competitive procurement process to ensure that there is open and fair competition with responsible vendors for these kinds of service contracts. Vendor 2,however,deviates visibly at numbers 4 and 9, which couldsuggest falsified purchasing prices, and should be flagged forfurther investigation. Generally, Chapter 30B applies even when a local jurisdiction uses federal funds to pay for supplies or services. However, jurisdictions can take actions to ensure that grantees use ARPA funds in accordance with grant agreements. Subrecipients are subject to an audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR part 200, subpart F regarding audit requirements, whereas contractors are not subject to an audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR part 200, subpart F regarding audit requirements. It is a red flag that the business may not be legitimate or well established. The contract did not entitle the vendor to charge an administrative fee and the housing authority rightly refused to pay it. SLFRF funds may be, but are not required to be, used along with other funding sources for a given project. As you may know, under Section 1(b)(21) of Chapter 30B contracts for the towing and storage of motor vehicles are exempt from the Uniform Procurement Act. Please let us know how we can improve this page. The funds can be used to purchase equipment that improves or enhances the delivery of daily When evaluating vendor invoices, jurisdictions may determine that some expenses require further review. Please include this language separately in the bid solicitation. Final approval for sole source procurement requests in most states resides with the Chief Procurement Official. Incorporate by Program income does not include interest earned on advances of Federal funds, rebates, credits, discounts, or interest on rebates, credits, or discounts. We welcome non-English speakers to contact us. bWlLLiBg`x m Most Commonwealth agencies and municipalities rely on vendors to supply the goods and services they need to operate. MOUs and MOAs should still include the required contract provisions, https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/SLFRF-Compliance-and-Reporting-Guidance.pdf, https://www.govregs.com/regulations/title2_chapterII_part200. Department Directory | Privacy Policy | SiteMap | 2023 City of Providence. The standard allowance is available to all counties, including ones with allocations under $10 million. As many of you already know, the US Treasury last week issued the Final Rule on the funds granted to state and local governments by the American Rescue Plan Act. Weve never been audited, so there are no benchmarks to assess our performance., Our regular business hours are third shift., We cannot remove documents from our office., Cross-charging multiple clients or departments for their staffs work, Improper employee classification e.g., junior staff hours billed at a supervisors hourly rate, Overlapping time vendor creates two or more timesheets for the employee for the same day, Schedule manipulation vendor routinely postpones or schedules jobs with higher overtime rates toward the end of the week, Over-purchasing materials for personal use, Product substitution - substituting lower-quality products for those agreed upon in the contract, Failure to apply discounts, refunds and rebates, Billing materials to one project but using for another project, Intentionally applying rates from one contract to another, Billing time and equipment rates in lump-sum, unit or fixed-price contracts. Finally, in addition to my colleagues Rebecca Badgett, who drafted some of the above UG policies, and Connor Crews, who is working on procurement and conflict of interest policies, we want to thank our two amazing research assistants, Tiffany Oliva and Abby Gostling, who drafted several of our templates and other tools. Jurisdictions should build on these federal requirements to ensure that grant recipients spend grant money appropriately by implementing their own comprehensive monitoring and reporting policies. October 2017 Procurement Bulletin Article, Recently, our Office learned that a vendor included administrative fees in invoices issued to a housing authority under a revenue-generating contract. Know the agreed-upon scope of work, including dates and locations where the vendor is required to deliver the supplies or services. Jurisdictions should only make payments after reviewing all invoices and supporting documentation for accuracy and completeness. If you identify a fee or charge that is not accounted for in a contract between your jurisdiction and a vendor, contact the vendor for an explanation; or request a corrected invoice and a return of any improperly paid fees. The idea of using data can be intimidating, and you might think you need to be a data expert to analyze or use data. Impaired independence can hinder an auditors professional judgment or create the appearance that his professional judgment has been compromised. Incorporate by reference any federal rules that apply to the grant award. SLFRF funds beyond those that are available under the revenue loss eligible use category may not be used to meet the non-federal match or cost-share requirements of other federal programs, other than as specifically provided for by statute. For more information about adopting a procurement policy for your jurisdiction, please see page 3 of the Bulletin. Mass.gov is a registered service mark of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Without thinking much about it, you gathered data and made a decision based on that data. Recipients must implement robust internal controls and effective monitoring to ensure compliance with the Cost Principles, which are important for building trust and accountability. This makes bid manipulation more difficult. In the February 2020 issue of the OIG Bulletin, we published the first in a series of articles to help demystify data analytics. The funds can be used to purchase equipment that improves or enhances the delivery of daily In some cases, existing relationships established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) can be expanded for the provision of services that may fall under the intended use of ARP funding, such as non-profits or public entities like local public school districts or institutions of higher education, which provide public services such as housing support, healthcare, food distribution, or job training programs. Make sure the vendor is legitimate, responsible, has acceptable references and is properly registered to conduct business in Massachusetts. This requirement builds on the eligible use determination. ARPA REQUIREMENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN Bid manipulation undermines fair competition, can cost your jurisdiction money and, in many instances, is illegal. For example, the city of Boston used ARPA fiscal recovery funds to award more than $3.4 million in grants to 192 local arts and cultural organizations. 200.319-320 (describing the competitive processes required for procurements made with federal funds). Ensure that the vendor has provided identifying information on the invoice, including: Vendor name, address, phone number and email, Description, quantity, unit of measure and unit price of supplies delivered or services performed, Location of services performed, if applicable. 559 0 obj <> endobj 200.317, 200.322, and 200.326. The bar chart shows that the purchase prices, when grouped together, closely follow the expected distribution of numbers according toBenfordsLaw. US Treasury issued theFinal Ruleof the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP/CSLFRF) in January 2022. This training discusses the differences between subrecipients and contractors under the federal rules, fiscal recovery fund spending that is presumed eligible due to the nature of the beneficiaries or the type of project, and rules relating to using fiscal recovery funds on capital expenditures. Determine whether the contract allows the vendor to bill for the items listed on the invoice. All rights reserved. The team needs the vendors support in order to get access to records and personnel, as well as to take action on findings. Appendix 1: Allowable Use Matrix Background On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was signed into law. Identify and understand the intended uses of the funds in the grant award agreement. Webthe provision of police, fire, and other public safety services (e.g., purchasing a fire truck or police vehicles, purchasing other equipment, covering salaries of public safety personnel). two (2) subrecipients to carry these programs. Further, the individuals who review and approve invoices must know the contract terms, conditions and specifications. Typical cost items include compensation and fringe benefits, materials and supplies, equipment and other capital, consultants/professional services, audits, communications, insurance, maintenance and repair, and rental costs. (Please note the email notification for new blog posts from the SOG is not functioning correctly at this time.). Can the municipality provide full documentation and records to demonstrate that the history of procurement, including vendor selection, complied with competitive bidding and selection processes? Alternatively, if the recipient does not have a NICRA, the recipient may elect to use the de minimis rate of 10 percent of the modified total direct costs pursuant to 2 CFR 200.414(f). It also will identify grey areas that may require further legal scrutiny before finalizing expenditure decisions. A lock icon ( Thank you for your website feedback! 1681 et seq., and the Departments implementing regulations, 31 CFR part 28; Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Public Law 94-135, 42 U.S.C. If a local government partners with another government, nonprofit, or other private entity to carry out an ARP/CSLFRF award project, it must follow the subaward process. January 14, 2022 ARPA Final Rule and Procurement Requirements for Audit Services *REVISED January 28, 2022* As many of you already know, the US Also, remember the following: 1. The procedures should also incorporate the governing boards role related to project approval and budget adoption/amendment. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. For example, you can gather information about product specifications, usage and performance from relevant personnel in your jurisdiction. A contracting agency is free to decide that a particular award need not be restricted to professional engineering firms. The expenditures for each eligible project are comprised of cost items. hbbd```b`` DHl"Yn H2|+H3$00M 2@ o. Ensuring that submitted bids are sealed and secured physically or digitally until the bid opening. hb```f``rb`e``_ B,``nAxsYd.(3b(|lzx=g3@7^L5b0\aO0 5wtt 1f 9WcrBe`.ymqcBr5v*r VvH3q/1iC U As indicated above, there may be ways to strategically spend the ARP/CSLFRF to minimize (but not eliminate) a local governments UG burden. Governmental entities must vigilantly oversee their vendors to prevent fraud and waste in the expenditure of their limited financial resources. 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