Finding 575635 (2024-002)

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury Federal Program Title: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Federal Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: N/A / SLFRP1191-2021 Pass-Through Agency: City of Duluth / St. Louis County Pass-Through Number(s): N/A Award Period: 7/7/2023 - 10 years from date certificate of completion is issued / 5/19/2021 - 12/31/2026 Type of Finding:  Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: When a non-Federal entity enters into a covered transaction with an entity at a lower tier, the non-Federal entity must verify that the entity, as defined in 2 CFR section 180.995 and agency adopting regulations, is not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. This verification may be accomplished by (1) checking the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA) and available at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ (2) collecting a certification from the entity, or (3) adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that entity (2 CFR section 180.300). Condition: During our testing we noted the Organization did not apply its suspension and debarment procedures for one contractor sampled as they did not perform nor retain adequate documentation in accordance with Uniform Guidance. Questioned Costs: N/A Context: Three out of three selections did not have any suspension/debarment procedures followed until after entering into the covered transaction. Cause: Management was aware of the suspension and debarment requirements dictated by the Uniform Guidance, however, did not follow their policy for either checking sam.gov or receiving a selfcertification from the contractor. Effect: Potential for the Organization to do business with entities that are suspended or debarred which is not allowed per Uniform Guidance. Repeat Finding: This is a repeat finding – see finding 2023-001. Recommendation: The Organization should ensure they follow their suspension and debarment policy. The Organization should ensure documents are retained to support whether suspension and debarment policies were followed for contractors in years past. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective actions: There are no disagreements with the audit finding. The Organization will ensure they follow their suspension and debarment policy moving forward and documentation is retained.