Finding Text
Federal Assistance Listing Numbers – 21.027
Federal Agency – Department of Treasury
Federal Program Title – COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery
Funds
Award Period – 03/31/2021 through 12/31/2024, 10/01/2020 through 12/31/2023
Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control Over Compliance, Other Matter
Compliance Requirement: Procurement, Suspension and Debarment
Condition: The County did not follow its procurement policy. Additionally, the procurement policy in place does not meet UG requirements, which includes having a policy on suspension and debarment verification.
Criteria: 2 CFR 200 requires that all procurement transactions for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the standards of this section and §200.320. The non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: Rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. Further, the method of procurement, whether informal or formal, must follow the County’s written procurement policy on approval thresholds and controls. 2 CFR 200 states that non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. “Covered transactions” include contracts for goods and services awarded under a nonprocurement transaction (e.g., grant or cooperative agreement) that are expected to equal or exceed $25,000 or meet certain other criteria as specified in 2 CFR section 180.220). All non-procurement transactions entered into by a pass-through entity (i.e., subawards to subrecipients), irrespective of award amount, are considered covered transactions, unless they are exempt as provided in 2 CFR section 180.215. When a non-Federal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the non-Federal entity must verify that the entity, as defined in 2 CFR section 180.995 and agency adopting regulations, is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction.
Questioned Costs: Unknown
Context: During testing, it was noted that the County does have a purchasing policy but not a procurement policy that follows Uniform Guidance (UG) nor does the County have a policy that covers suspension and debarment. Furthermore, the County did not retain supporting documentation for the procurement method selected. All six of the transactions tested did not follow the required procedures in place.
Cause: The County has a purchasing policy but not a procurement policy that follows Uniform Guidance (UG) nor does the County have a policy that covers suspension and debarment.
Effect: The County is not in compliance with procurement or suspension and debarment requirements. Contracts for construction, nonconstruction related procurements, and those over the simplified acquisition threshold may not be in compliance with the Uniform Guidance. Vendors may be paid with federal funds that are suspended and debarred entities which would not be in compliance with the Uniform Guidance.
Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding of 2022-004.
Recommendation: We recommend the County review and update procurement policies for the entire County to ensure it meets the minimum requirements of 2 CFR 200 for all federal grants and establish a procurement process in order to ensure this policy is followed which includes adding language over suspension and debarment.
Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the finding. The County is working on reviewing policies and procedures and updating as necessary. Further, training will be available to all those involved in grants.