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FINDING 2025-001 Subject: COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds - Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: Department of the Treasury Federal Program: COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listings Number: 21.027 Federal Award Number and Year (or Other Identifying Number): CY2021 Pass-Through Entity: Morgan County, Indiana Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Audit Findings: Significant Deficiency, Other Matters INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 13 TOWN OF MOORESVILLE SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Condition and Context The Town spent COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) award dollars from two sources during the audit period. One source was a direct allocation from the Department of the Treasury (Treasury). The other source was a pass-through from Morgan County, Indiana. Direct Treasury funds that are spent under the revenue loss eligible use category are not subject to the federal procurement requirements set forth in 2 CFR § 200.318-200.327. Because the Town classified all its direct Treasury funds spent during the audit period as revenue loss, federal procurement rules do not apply to those expenditures. However, procurement requirements do apply to the SLFRF funds the Town spent as a subrecipient of Morgan County, Indiana. Procurement - Policy Award funds may be used to procure goods and services necessary to carry out the purpose of the award. The Town must follow its own documented procurement policies and procedures, which must reflect applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The Town did not have a procurement policy or procedures that complied with state or federal laws and regulations for the procurement of goods or services with federal funds. Procurement - Small Purchases Federal regulations allow for informal procurement methods when the value of the procurement for goods or services does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold, which is set at $250,000 unless a lower, more restrictive threshold is set by a nonfederal entity. As Indiana Code has set a more restrictive threshold of $150,000, informal procurement methods are permitted when the value of the procurement does not exceed $150,000. This informal process allows for methods other than the formal bid process. The informal process is divided between two methods based on thresholds. Micro-purchases are typically for those purchases $50,000 or under, and small purchase procedures are for those purchases above the micro-purchase threshold but below the simplified acquisition threshold. Micro-purchases may be awarded without soliciting competitive price rate quotations. If small purchase procedures are used, the price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources. The Town had one vendor that qualified for and was tested under the small purchase procedures. The Town paid this vendor $92,463 during the audit period for a sanitation project but did not obtain the required price or rate quotations. The ineffective internal controls and noncompliance were isolated to the procurement policy and the small purchase identified above. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 14 TOWN OF MOORESVILLE SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." 2 CFR 200.318(a) states: "The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State, local, and tribal laws and regulations and the standards of this section, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non- Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in §§ 200.317 through 200.327." 2 CFR 200.320 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with the standards of this section and §§ 200.317, 200.318, and 200.319 for any of the following methods of procurement used for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or sub-award. (a) Informal procurement methods. When the value of the procurement for property or services under a Federal award does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), as defined in § 200.1, or a lower threshold established by a non-Federal entity, formal procurement methods are not required. The non-Federal entity may use informal procurement methods to expedite the completion of its transactions and minimize the associated administrative burden and cost. The informal methods used for procurement of property or services at or below the SAT include: . . . (2) Small purchases— (i) Small purchase procedures. The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which is higher than the micro-purchase threshold but does not exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. If small purchase procedures are used, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources as determined appropriate by the non-Federal entity. . . ." Cause Management was unaware of this grant requirement relating to the federal procurement policy and obtaining quotes for federal small purchases. Effect The failure to establish an effective system of internal controls and retain and provide appropriate supporting documentation prevented the determination of the Town's compliance with the compliance requirement listed above. The failure to design and implement an effective system of internal controls enabled noncompliance to go undetected. Noncompliance with the grant agreement and the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement could result in the loss of future federal funds to the Town. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 15 TOWN OF MOORESVILLE SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that the Town's management establish a system of internal controls to ensure that they are in compliance with the grant agreement the Procurement and Suspension and Debarment compliance requirement. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.