Corrective Action Plans

MANAGEMENT’S PLANNED CORRECTIVE ACTION: For noncompetitive procurement, the District will maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include but are not limited to the rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. The District’s timeframe for implementation is effective immediately. Currently, the District has contracted with J. Martin & Associates, LLC (JMA) to provide business office accounting services. Representatives from JMA and the rest of the business office staff will monitor the implementation of noncompetitive procurement procedures to ensure that they are followed appropriately.

Action taken in response to finding: The City will review procurement policies for the entire City to ensure it meets the minimum requirements of 2 CFR 200 for all federal grants.

This compliance finding relates to the previous administration, who did not properly have the vendor bid out in accordance with federal guidelines. The City will review their policies and procedures to ensure that all contracts that have federal expenditures are properly bid in accordance with 2 CFR 200.320.

Personnel Responsible for Corrective Action: Policies and procedures will be supervised by COO, Tracie Thomas, Facilities Operations Manager, Tiffany Durr, Senior Accounting Specialist, Laura Froese, and Grants Specialist, Westen Gehring Anticipated Completion Date: Policies and procedures will be reviewed, drafted, and implemented by May 30, 2024 and reflected in the 2024 audit. Corrective Action Plan: To ensure compliance with federal procurement standards, by 05/30/2024 The Land Institute will develop more robust policies and procedures for tracking purchases in accordance with uniform guidance standards for formal federal procurement and noncompetitive procurement of equipment with federal funds. Updated policies will apply to micro-purchases above the threshold of $10,000 and will include requirement of documentation demonstrating that TLI checked the vendor’s status to ensure they were not suspended or debarred. A sole source justification form will be drafted and made available upon request for purchases where noncompetitive procurement was deemed necessary. These changes will be reflected in an updated procurement policy document as well as the development of a sole source justification template.

1. The District will obtain more information from the Ohio Purchasing Council going forward on future projects. 2. On the purchase of a used van, the transportation supervisor searched for a van that would suit the needs for our school district. 3. Our maintenance supervisor received 2 quotes for the floor scrubbers that we purchased. The district split the order between the two vendors.

Finding Number: 2023-002 Condition: The Society did not have documentation to support that two covered transactions were checked for potential suspension or debarment before entering into the transaction. There was one covered transaction where the Society did not have documentation to support the procurement process followed or that more than one vendor was reviewed for pricing before selecting the vendor chosen. Planned Corrective Action: Staff turnover in early 2023 resulted in limited capacity for dedicated staff to check for potential suspension or debarment before adding vendors to the system. We have dedicated staff who will be managing this process going forward. The Society has written procurement policies and procedures. Key leadership stakeholders have been apprised of our policies and procedures. The Society will be implementing a training series for government funded procurement stakeholders within the Society to ensure compliance. Contact person responsible for corrective action: Dharshni Sabapathy, Senior Director of Accounting Anticipated Completion Date: April 25, 2024

The district expended Child Nutrition program funds of $71,250. Competitive bids were obtained, but the district failed to advertise for requests for proposals for the purchases.

Person(s) responsible for the corrective action is Jenny Blevins, Child Nutrition Director, and Linda Tullos, Superintendent.

The district updated and strengthened the procurement plan to follow formal purchase procedures. The updated procurement plan was implemented on 11/14/2023.

Finding 2023-001: Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Corrective action: Because of its size, the City does not feel it is cost effective to hire an employee(s) with the experience and technical training to prepare its financial statements. The City is, however, willing to assist with the preparation and will continue to work to gain experience in this area. Responsible Person: Blyann Johnson Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing Finding 2023-002: Internal Control Environment Corrective action: The City is aware of our lack of controls over accounts payable/disbursements, payroll, property taxes, utility billing and collection and period close. Because of our size, we do not feel it is cost effective to hire the number of employees needed to cure these internal control deficiencies. Responsible Person: Blyann Johnson Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing Finding 2023-003: Significant Deficiency - Internal Control Over Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Corrective action: Management and the City Council will create and approve a written procurement policy that meets the requirements for Uniform Guidance. Responsible Person: Blyann Johnson Anticipated Completion Date: 12/31/2024

The School District will follow proper procurement procedures related to food purchases.

Views of Responsible Officials: RFE/RL Finance has provided clarification and additional guidance to Department Directors and the Procurement team to reinforce the importance of documenting the steps and decisions that result in a Sole-Source justification in the requisition process. Management has engaged Procurement consultants who have produced clear purchasing guidelines for the company including documentation requirements. RFE/RL has hired a new Procurement Director with the responsibility to improve management of the process and direction to the procurement team to ensure that support for sole source purchases is complete, maintained, and made available for review during the audit process and upon management request. Management believes that substantial progress has been made in either justifying sole source acquisitions within the limits of 2 CFR 200.320 or requiring competitive bids since the new Procurement Director has been appointed. It is Management’s intent to continue to operate in a way that removes this significant deficiency as a concern.

The Center did not follow the appropriate procedures to comply with Uniform Grant Guidance. During testing, it was noted that the Center made procurements through noncompetitive procurement arrangements. Consistent with 2 CFR § 200.320(c)(3), an LEA may determine that its response to the COVID-19 pandemic qualifies as a public exigency or emergency that does not permit the delay that would result from competitive bidding. Under these circumstances, and to the degree doing so is consistent with its own policies and procedures, the Center could use noncompetitive procurement. The Center should consult with the Pennsylvania Department of Education before using this authority. Subsequently, the Center paid for this purchase utilizing the Education Stabilization Fund and Career and Technical Education monies. In using federal funds to pay for these items, the Center inadvertently did not follow its procurement policy. Response and Planned Corrective Action: The Center acknowledges this finding, and has since revised its procurement process to include the requisite items as required by the US DoE (ED) Uniform Grant Guidance (UGG) in its subsequent purchases with Federal Funds. It is also noted that most if not all of these purchases were made in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and with delayed guidance from PA Department of Education’s Federal Programs Office. When alerted to the guidance, the Center implemented the proper procedures. Planned Corrective Action: • When using federal funds, the Business Manager/Asst. Business Manager will ensure that cooperative purchasing programs or noncompetitive purchasing arrangements comply with the UGG procurement policy. • The Business Manager/Asst. Business Manager will document the process and how it complied with the procurement standards and keep such documentation with Federal Award budget/procurement documents.

April 15, 2024 Donovans CPA www.cpadonovan.com RE: Findings 2023-001 Procurement Assistance Listing Number 84.282A Dear Sirs; Lawrence County Independent Schools has implemented the following Corrective Action Plan in response to the finding of the Single Audit for fiscal years ending 2023. Corrective Action Plan 1. The LCIS Procurement Policy has been updated by the Director of Schools, Joanne Symcox, under the non-Federal entity (Per 2 CFR 200.318) to conform to procurement standards identified in 200.317 through 200.327. 2. The updated policy will be presented at the March 21, 2024 Board Meeting for review and approval. 3. The corrective action plan was implemented beginning Mar 13, 2024. 4. The Director of Schools, Joanne Symcox is responsible for plan implementation and adherence. Sincerely, Joanne Symcox

Finding Number 2023-001 Contact Person(s): Rick Johnson, VP of Finance and Administration Explanation and specific reasons for disagreement with the audit finding or that corrective action is not required (if applicable): Corrective action planned: The Seattle Aquarium will provide training for employees involved in procurement exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold to ensure they are aware of the various procurement methods and requirements. Review of the procurement process by the Finance Department will be required for such planned purchases. Anticipated completion date: June 30, 2024

2023-001 Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Contact: Joseph Wilson Title: SVP, Procurement Phone Number: 202-760-4193 Estimated completion date: September 2024 Corrective Action: Management agrees with the findings and recommendations set forth within. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, prior to the 2022-001 finding, noncompetitive procurements completed followed the prior procurement policy that did not align with Uniform Guidance as relates to noncompetitive procurement justifications. The Corporation has since completed its revised procurement policies and procedures to conform with Uniform Guidance procurement requirements. Training on the Uniform Guidance procurement requirements was developed and required for all staff with procurement responsibilities to ensure (1) adherence to Uniform Guidance and (2) that appropriate justifications for noncompetitive contracts are used and properly documented. Moreover, during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023, NeighborWorks implemented a new contracts management system that will be used to manage all aspects of vendor contracts from planning to closeout, including the contract expiration date. During fiscal year 2024, management has continued its response to the recommendations by engaging with technical experts to enhance the contracts management system and strengthen internal controls. Additional training is being developed on the enhanced system and processes to ensure continued compliance with Uniform Guidance as relates to noncompetitive procurements.

Management understands that the U.S. government requires recipients of federal grants, such as Hood River County, to adhere to specific terms and conditions. The overarching requirement Hood River county must follow is the Office of Management and Budget's Uniform Adminstrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 2 CFR part 200, referred to as Uniform Guidance. Hood River County is training personnel to be mindful of following this guidance when making purchases. Through monthly meetings of the Grants Committee which attempts to centralize the County's grant work. The County is also in the process of hiring a Grants Manager to bring a higher level of education and experience overall. Hood River County is already taking these steps to inform and educate personnel at the time of this audit report.

2023-002 Procurement Recommendation: Competitive quotes should be obtained and retained as a specified in the City’s procurement policies and Uniform Guidance. Non-competitive procurement (for sole source vendors) should be documented and approved prior to incurring expenses. The City should update and expand procurement polices to document competitive procurement practices for procurement less than the bid threshold. Management Response: Staff have already implemented a procurement procedure to attach all the quotes received from vendors to the purchase order. In the future when reviewing, staff will be able to see all the vendors that provided a quote and see the lowest quote was used to procure the item(s). Staff will be updating the procurement policy during the current fiscal year to expand the policy on procurement less than the bid threshold. Responsible Parties: Brittany Retherford, Assistant City Manager, Nick Walsh, Comptroller, and Mindy Brown, Assistant Comptroller Anticipated Completion Date: September 30, 2024

Corrective Action Planned: The Board will ensure compliance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) 2 CFR 200.318 and CFR 200.320 and the Code of Alabama 1975, Title 39. Anticipated Completion Date: The completion date is March 15, 2024 Contact Person(s): Cindy W. Parker; Chief School Financial Officer; cparker@blountboe.net

2023-004 - Procurement, Suspension, and Debarment – Internal Control over Procurement and Verification Against the System for Award Management (“SAM”) (Significant Deficiency) Condition: Community Development Block Grants-Entitlement Grants Cluster Based on the City’s formal purchasing policy, purchase orders are required to initiate purchases from procured vendors for transactions above $5,000. During our audit, we noted that seven (7) out of forty (40) samples did have purchase order approval made subsequent to invoice approval. The aforementioned circumstance suggests that the method of procurement was not in line with the City’s adopted policy established in line with the uniform guidance. Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds We determined that seven (7) out of forty (40) samples did have purchase order approval made subsequent to invoice approval. The aforementioned circumstance suggests that the method of procurement was not in line with the City’s adopted policy established in line with the uniform guidance. During our audit, we also noted that there was no supporting document to indicate that the City verified the vendor against the SAM to ensure the vendor was not suspended or debarred from federally-funded programs before the contract was entered into. Management concurs. Corrective Actions: The City has an existing purchasing policy and procedures that require documentation for all purchases. Finance department has sent to all department heads reminder and the importance of compliance with the policy and procedures. The reminder also emphasizes the necessity of preparing a purchase order before procuring products or services from a vendor. There may be certain circumstances preventing the preparation of a purchase order prior to procurement, such as the nature of the services or the urgency of acquiring materials and supplies, departments may proceed with the procurement as long as the services or purchases are within adopted budget. City Council approved the Federal Award Management Policy & Procedures on agenda item #4 on December 6, 2023. Finance staff has also updated the requisition form to include a verification of SAM.gov clearance, requiring any backup indicating the vendors status if it is federally funded. City staff has been diligently verifying the suspension or debarment for all federally funded expenditures. Implemented Name of Responsible Person: Robert A. López, Chief of Police Manuel Carrillo Jr., Director of Recreation & Community Services Ron Garcia, Director of Community Development Sam Gutierrez, Director of Public Works Rose Tam, Director of Finance Albert Trinh, Accounting Manager Projected Implementation Date: All actions needed have been Immediately implemented.

Action taken in response to finding: Management will create a process for creating and maintaining an approved vendor list as suggested. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Christopher Dons, Chief Financial Officer Planned completion date for corrective action plan: September 30, 2024

Finding – Internal control deficiencies over procurement requirements Name of contact person: Lane Millar, Finance Director Corrective action: The City will ensure that employees receive comprehensive training on procurement requirements as a prerequisite before undertaking those responsibilities. Proposed completion date: March 1, 2024

The County is continuing to implement a county-wide contract clause that will be added to covered transaction contracts to comply with 2 CFR 180, to ensure covered transactions receive verification that the person or entity is not excluded or disqualified. Review and approval of this suspension and debarment verification will be performed during the contract approval process, which will include this standardized clause. The County’s purchasing policy and procedures manual will be updated to include this standard suspension and debarment verification process to ensure this procedure is communicated county-wide and followed. Additionally, the County will develop standard justification forms to document method of procurement to be maintained in the procurement file. The County will also update its contract templates to include applicable suspension and debarment attestation language which meets Federal requirements and update its purchasing policy and procedures manual to reflect these changes.

Management’s Response: We concur. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action: The District is actively working to develop written policies that will guide future procurement and selection of firms that participate in these federally-funded projects, including debarment and conflict of interest procedures. We plan to implement new policies by end of F& 23/24. Implementation Date: June 2024 Name of Responsible Person: Hugh Logan, General Manager

Management’s Response: We concur. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action: The District is actively working to develop written policies that will guide future procurement and selection of firms that participate in these federally-funded projects, including debarment and conflict of interest procedures. We plan to implement new policies by end of F& 23/24. Implementation Date: June 2024 Name of Responsible Person: Hugh Logan, General Manager