Finding 1102455 (2022-004)

2022-004 Procurement - Material Weakness Criteria: The Town must follow the procurement standards et out at 2CFR section 200.318 through 200.326. This requires bids be placed for purchases ranging from $10,000-$250,000. The Town currently has policies in place utilizing the state library listing of approved vendors for potential purchases over $50,000. The CFR does allow an entity to increase the lower limit from $10,000 to $50,000 in certain circumstances. One of the conditions is that the entity qualifies as a low risk entity. The Town currently does not qualify as a low risk entity therefore the Town does not qualify for the increase of the lower limit. Sole source vendors are the exception to this rule. Condition: The Town did not obtained 3 bids for over $10,000 purchases. The Town did use the State's liability to identify eligible vendors but failed to get bids. Cause: The Town has had significant difficulties in retaining both a Town Clerk and Accountant who have the capacity to follow procurement policies. This caused purchases to be made without following required procurement procedures. Effect: The Town is not in compliance with the Uniform Guidance and therefore, the Town bas the possibility of not being able to renew contracts in the future. Recommendation: We recommend that the Town follow the procurement policy to comply with federal guidance. Views of Responsible Officias and Planned Corrective Actions: See Corrective Action Plan.