Finding 522589 (2024-001)

2024-001 U.S. Department of Treasury, Assistance Listing #21.027 ARPA – Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund for the period July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 Criteria: Non-federal entities are prohibited from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. In addition, under the requirements of fiscal management, grant recipients are required to design and implement internal controls to ensure compliance with grant requirements and their own policies and procedures. Condition: The Town contracted with a construction company to do work under a grant-funded project and did not document that the contractor was not suspended or debarred. Cause: Although the Town maintains a list of approved contractors and vendors, according to the Town’s purchasing policy, the Town is prohibited from contracting with another party that is suspended or debarred. Therefore, the Town should have obtained proof that the company in question was not suspended or debarred. Effect: The Town runs the risk of performing projects with parties who have been suspended or debarred, which could result in the loss of federal funding. Known Questioned Costs: unknown Likely Questioned Costs: unknown Recommendations: We recommend that the Town implement procedures to annually check active vendors and contractors and document that they are not suspended, debarred, or in some way prohibited from working on Town projects, especially those working on federally-funded projects.