Finding 976817 (2023-001)

Finding No. 2023-001 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-through Entity: Office of the Governor of Guam ALN and Title: 84.425H COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund – Governors (Outlying Areas) Federal Award Number: Unknown Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Questioned Cost: $34,608 Criteria: 2 Guam Administrative Rules and Regulations (G.A.R.R.) Division 4 §3109 (b) provides that every procurement shall be made by competitive sealed bidding, subject to certain exceptions including the following: 1. Small purchases method applies to procurements less than $25,000 for supplies and services and less than $100,000 for construction, and procurement requirements shall not be artificially divided so as to constitute a small purchase. For small purchases, no less than three positive written quotations from businesses shall be solicited, recorded and placed in the procurement file. 2. Sole source procurement is not permissible unless a requirement is available from only a single supplier. In cases of reasonable doubt, competition should be solicited. 3. Emergency procurement shall be made with such competition as is practicable under the circumstances, and the procurement agent must solicit at least three informal price quotations. Condition: For 1 (20%) of 5 samples tested, procurement of equipment and services under purchase order no. P2300905 costing approximately $34,608 did not go through competitive sealed bidding. The College lacked the required documentation for procuring the equipment and services other than the competitive sealed bidding method. No record is in file documenting which of the exception criteria supports the procurement method selected. Cause: The College procured the equipment and services through a Request for Quotation (RFQ) method after three unsuccessful sealed bid solicitations for the item since 2021. Effect: The College is not in compliance with applicable procurement compliance requirements.   Finding No. 2023-001, continued Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-through Entity: Office of the Governor of Guam ALN and Title: 84.425H COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund – Governors (Outlying Areas) Federal Award Number: Unknown Compliance Requirement: Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Questioned Cost: $34,608 Recommendation: Responsible procurement personnel should enforce compliance with applicable procurement laws and regulations particularly to meet the documentation requirements for procurements made outside of the prescribed procurement method. Views of responsible officials: See Corrective Action Plan.