Finding 1173393 (2025-002)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-02-12
Audit: 387100
Organization: City of Novato (CA)
Auditor: MUN CPAS LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City failed to maintain signed statements of compliance with certified payroll reports, violating federal requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: This lack of documentation undermines compliance with 2 CFR 200.303, which mandates effective internal controls over federal awards.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The City should enhance procedures to ensure all necessary documentation is collected and retained to demonstrate compliance with federal guidelines.

Finding Text

Federal Award U.S. Department of Transportation; Highway Planning and Construction; Assistance Listing Number 20.205 Criteria In accordance with Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR) section 200.303, the City must establish andmaintain effective internal controls over federal awards that provide reasonable assurance of compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition During our testing of five certified payroll reports, we noted the reports maintained by the City did not include certification of the payroll by the contractor. Context The agreement with the contractor requires a copy of the payroll and statement of compliance be submitted to the City weekly. We selected five weeks for testing and found that all five weeks did not have a signed statement of compliance. Cause The City did not maintain the signed statement of compliance submitted by the contractor. Effect The absence of the signed statement of compliance with the certified payroll reports increases the risk that errors or irregularities in compliance with federal program requirements may not be detected and corrected in a timely manner. Questioned Costs No costs are questioned. Identification as Repeat Finding This is not a repeat finding from the prior year. Recommendation We recommend the City strengthen procedures to ensure proper documentation is maintained to demonstrate compliance with the Uniform Guidance requirements. View of Responsible Officials Management agrees with the comment and will ensure a process is in place for the receipt of signed certified payrolls.

Corrective Action Plan

1) Draft policy issued to engineers from Deputy Director of Public Works, 2)finalize policy, and 3)follow procedure established to ensure certified payrolls are received and maintained on file.

Categories

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
20.205 HIGHWAY PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION $2.40M
21.019 CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND $1.37M
16.710 PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY POLICING GRANTS $213,923
16.738 EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM $171,077
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $109,034
20.614 NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA) DISCRETIONARY SAFETY GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS $22,814
16.607 BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM $17,343