Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Abby Doyle, Chief Deputy Auditor Contact Phone Number: (574) 235-9668 ext. 7201
Views of Responsible Official: We concur with the audit finding with respect to the failure of having processes and procedures in place to prohibit from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended and debarred or whose principals are suspended or debarred.
Description of Corrective Action Plan:
Currently, the County requires all new vendors to complete the attached “Vendor Registration Form”. On page 5 the vendor acknowledges they have not or are currently not suspended and debarred. A new step that Procurement implemented as of July 14, 2023 was verification of vendor’s status on sam.gov and attaching the screenshot to the LOW system. Procurement will update their vendor policy to specifically include this step in 2024.
On July 14, 2023, County Attorney issued a statement enforcing the following verbiage to be added to all contracts.
Debarment and Suspension
1. Contractor certifies, by entering into this Agreement, that neither it nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from or ineligible for participation in any Federal assistance program by and Federal department or agency, or by any department, agency, or political subdivision of the State of Indiana. The term “principal” for purposes of the Agreement means an officer, director, owner, partner, key employee, or the person with primary management or supervisory responsibilities, or a person who has a critical influence on or substantive control over the operation of the Contractor.
2. Contractor certifies, by entering into this Agreement, that is does not engage in investment activities in Iran as more particularly described in IC 5-22-16.5.
3. Contractor shall provide immediate written notice to County if, at any time after entering into this Agreement, Contractor learns that its certifications were erroneous when submitted, or
Contractor is debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, has been included on a list or received notice of intent to include on a list created pursuant to IC 5-22-16.5, voluntarily excluded from or becomes ineligible for participation in any Federal assistance program. Any such event shall be cause for termination of this agreement as provided herein.
4. Contractor shall not subcontract with any party which is debarred or suspended or is otherwise excluded from on ineligible for participation in any Federal assistance programs by any federal department or agency, or by any department, agency or political subdivision of the State of Indiana.
Next, the County Attorney provided guidance to all departments to verify vendors prior to engaging in a contract. Below is the verbiage from the County Attorney to staff on July 14, 2023.
The state has asked us to verify that the entity we are contracting with is not debarred by visiting the following websites and running a search:
https://sam.gov/content/exclusions
https://www.in.gov/idoa/procurement/supplier-resource-center/supplier-responsibilities/
Termination for Failure of Funding
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if funds for the continued fulfillment of this Agreement by County are at any time insufficient or not forthcoming through a failure of any entity to appropriate funds or otherwise, then the County shall have the right to terminate this Agreement without penalty by giving written notice documenting the lack of funding, in which instance this Agreement shall terminate and become null and void on the last day of the fiscal period for which appropriations were received. County agrees to make its best efforts to obtain sufficient funds, including but not limited to, requesting in its budget for each fiscal period during the term hereof sufficient funds to meet its obligations hereunder in full.
For public works projects:
Compliance With E-Verify Program.
Pursuant to IC 22-5-1.7, Consultant shall enroll in and verify the work eligibility status of all newly hired employees of Consultant through the E-Verify Program (“Program”). Consultant is not required to verify the work eligibility status of all newly hired employees through the Program if the Program no longer exists.
Consultant and its subcontractors shall not knowingly employ or contract with an unauthorized alien or retain an employee or contract with a person that Consultant or its subcontractor subsequently learns is an unauthorized alien. If Consultant violates this Section, County shall require Consultant to remedy the violation not later than thirty (30) days after County notifies Consultant. If Consultant fails to remedy the violation within the thirty (30) day period, County shall terminate the contract for breach of contract. If County terminates the contract, Consultant shall, in addition to any other contractual remedies, be liable to County for actual damages. There is a rebuttable presumption that Consultant did not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien if Consultant verified the work eligibility status of the employee through the Program.
If Consultant employs or contracts with an unauthorized alien but County determines that terminating the contract would be detrimental to the public interest or public property, County may allow the contract to remain in effect until County procures a new contractor.
Consultant shall, prior to performing any work, require each subcontractor to certify to Consultant that the subcontractor does not knowingly employ or contract with an unauthorized alien and has enrolled in the Program. Consultant shall maintain on file a certification from each subcontractor throughout the duration of the Project. If Consultant determines that a subcontractor is in violation of this Section, Consultant may terminate its contract with the subcontractor for such violation.
Pursuant to IC 22-5-1.7 a fully executed affidavit affirming that the business entity does not knowingly employ an unauthorized alien and confirming Consultant’s enrollment in the Program, unless the Program no longer exists, shall be filed with County prior to the execution of this Agreement. This Agreement shall not be deemed fully executed until such affidavit is filed with the County.
Lastly, the Commissioner’s Assistant will check incoming contracts from departments to ensure proper documentation is attached that verifies the vendor has been checked through sam.gov and in.gov. Once the contract has been approved by the Commissioners, the Auditor’s office will then upload the contract and supporting documents onto Gateway.
Completion Date: June 24, 2024