Finding 2713 (2021-002)

2021-002 Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Grantor: U.S. Department of Treasury/U.S. Department of Justice Award Name: Equitable Sharing Program Award Year: 01/01/21 – 12/31/21 CFDA Numbers: 21.016 / 16.922 Criteria OMB Uniform Guidance §200.319 states 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, which states that 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. Condition During our procurement testing procedures, we selected 24 items from the vendor history activity report and traced them to procurement and bidding procedures. Through our testing, we identified two purchases made using Federal funds to purchase vehicles, that were not publicly advertised or made through a non-competitive procurement process. Both of the items exceeded the public bidding threshold but did not follow formal procurements procedures. Cause Due to the global pandemic, the availability of vehicles has become limited. The Borough police department needed specific vehicles for their operations and made the purchases without using formal procurement procedures to avoid the risk of losing the opportunity to purchase the vehicles. Effect The procurement procedures were not followed as required, therefore, Federally funded purchases bypassed procurement regulations. Questioned Costs None noted. Recommendation The Borough should follow procurement policy and publicly advertise for sealed bids on contracts or purchases over $44,000, documenting the significant history of the procurement in the contract file. Management’s View and Corrective Action Plan Management’s views and corrective action plan is included under separate cover and filed with the State of New Jersey.