Finding Text
2024-005 U.S. Department of Education, Assistance Listing #84.425D, #84.425U, and #84.425W, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds for the year July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 Criteria: Recipients and subrecipients that use Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER) for minor remodeling, renovation or construction contracts that are over $2,000 and use laborers and mechanics are subject to the Davis-Bacon Act and must meet prevailing wage requirements. Construction contracts are required to include a prevailing wage rate clause to notify the contractor or subcontractor of the requirement. Additionally, for each week in which any contract work is performed, a copy of the payroll and a statement of compliance (certified payrolls) are required to be submitted to the City. Statement of Condition: During compliance testing, only one of the five contracts tested subject to Davis-Bacon requirements contained the necessary contract clause. Certified payrolls were not collected for any of the projects. Cause: There are no formal procedures to ensure compliance with Davis-Bacon requirements. Effect: The City is non-compliant with Davis-Bacon requirements. The City has not obtained the required assurance that its contractors are paying workers at or above the prevailing wage rates. Recommendation: It is our recommendation that procedures and controls be implemented surrounding Davis Bacon requirements. The City should incorporate the specified contract clauses into contracts subject to Davis-Bacon compliance by inserting the contract clauses in full in the contract, or by incorporating the contract clauses by reference to an addendum or bid specification. In addition, they should be collecting certified payroll from contractors to ensure contractors are paying workers at or above the prevailing wage rates. Questioned Costs: None