ARPA Expenditure Category 2.15 and 2.18 - uses of funds, procurement, and reporting requirements, including audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR 200, Subpart F (see below). To ensure that the cost items within an eligible project are proper, a local government must adopt and implement an Allowable Costs and Cost Principles Policy. The metrics plotted show the number of change orders (orders that modify contract terms) and the contract length in months. The idea of using data can be intimidating, and you might think you need to be a data expert to analyze or use data. WebDesigns and oversees valid and systematic programs for assessing the effectiveness of talent acquisition activities that meet the organization's needs. If a local government partners with another government, nonprofit, or other private entity to carry out an ARP/CSLFRF award project, it must follow the subaward process. The right person to review an invoice depends on the type of contract, including its size and complexity. Many of the UG provisions require that the local government adopt and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with its requirements. The data from these documents can be combined to help make decisions about the award of future contracts. WebWhen it comes to using ARPA funds, there are layers of rules towns have to follow (the U.S. Treasury says so right here on page 8): - Local procurement rules - New York State endstream endobj 166 0 obj <> endobj 167 0 obj <> endobj 168 0 obj <>stream 128, 40064-40068. 200.317-318. For purposes of the Federal procurement requirements, states are defined as the 50 states, the District of Once the data has been transformed into auser-friendlyformat, it can be used in a variety of ways to assist with future procurements and other business decisions. WebProcurement Recipients are responsible for ensuring that any procurement using SLFRF funds, or payments under procurement contracts using such funds, are consistent with the procurement standards set forth in the Uniform Guidance at . The Office of Management and Budget recently published guidance on how auditors should conduct Single Audits for ARPA Recovery Fund investments and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program County auditors should consult OMBs Compliance Supplement when constructing Single Audits for county investments of federal funds. Pertinent documents may include invoices, payment information, purchase orders, requisitions, general ledgers, cash disbursements, check registrars, transactional data histories and contract bid documents. Please limit your input to 500 characters. See M.G.L. All other recipients must follow 2 CFR 200.318, General procurement standards, through 200.327, Contract provisions. There are several techniques you could use to identify vendors to audit. When procuring goods or services, the state agency or municipal department typically executes a contract with the vendor to outline the scope of the parties agreement. Outlier analysis, in its simplest form, compares different data points in order to identify data that stands out from the rest. Update: On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule, which governs the eligible uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).The Final Rule makes several key changes to the Interim Final Rule, including expanding the eligible uses of SLFRF funds may be, but are not required to be, used along with other funding sources for a given project. The jurisdiction became suspicious, researched the vendor and found no registration information on file with the Secretary of Commonwealth. endstream endobj startxref S.aR8.:h;"S=uV#7SS:]=i++_u}~}_y_yR,_+#$AqYoX%F"YC CV8OEG?+7yOet~f4e&xfqgP*1:bWn5lu-J;[:gqG5SfJ Qbu8CZq|+gBjUC5.P06. 5=;I?s=pCOsV+k 4^ "6!p ~|: 1 GW%kO &)1dwO1(SEQqm2(Rh !3I`eUb&. An official website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, This page, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Training, is. When grouping the pricingdataby individualvendor,asshownin the chartsbelow,andrunning the same analysis, youcansee that Vendor 1 and Vendor3follow the expecteddistribution pattern. Maintain open and direct communication with grantees. of the Award Terms and Conditions, Accessibility: Report a Digital Access Issue, Allowable Costs and Cost Principles Policy, Financial Management and Internal Controls, Program Income Policy (if local government uses ARP/CSLFRF funds to establish a loan program or otherwise earns income related to an ARP/CSLFRF expenditure), Procurement Policy (if a local government contracts for goods or services paid for with ARP/CSLFRF funds, or must engage in a Single Audit (even if the audit is paid for with other funds)), Property Management Policy (if a local government uses ARP/CLSFRF to acquire or improve any real property, equipment, or supplies), Subaward Policy (if a local government partners with another government, nonprofit, or other private entity to carry out an ARP/CSLFRF-eligible project), Thursday, March 24, at 8:30am (focus on affordable housing). Consistently applied. ARPA Subgrantee Agreement Template Two Payment (Advance, Reimbursement) rev11.3.22 (DOCX) ARPA Subgrantee Utilizing the appropriate procurement method based on the size of the proposed scope of services to ensure adequate competition. As part of those procedures, a local government should identify the core team who will perform the review processes and implement necessary controls. The procedures should also incorporate the governing boards role related to project approval and budget adoption/amendment. This may include justification of exigent or emergency circumstances, imminent threat to public health and safety, or substantive demonstration that no alternatives were feasible. However, Chapter 30B does not apply to federally funded procurements if following Chapter 30B would conflict with federal laws or regulations. When was the last time your client revised their procurement contracts? These awards are as follows: A few states have that power vested with the Governor, State Comptroller, Commissioner, or the Board or higher authority that oversees the procurement. Generally, Chapter 30B applies even when a local jurisdiction uses federal funds to pay for supplies or services. Webprocurement, with 2 CFR 200.319(b) addressing engineering services procurement guidelines. Ensuring that the contract structure is appropriate for the goods and/or services rendered, that prices are fair based on an independent cost or price analysis, and that a cost-plus-percentage-of-cost method is not used for federally-funded contracts. Based on theAssistance Listing: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fundsand Part 2 of theUS Treasury State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Compliance and Reporting Guidance(v3.0 February 2022) (Compliance Guide), the following UG provisions apply to the ARP/CSLFRF grant award: Most of these UG provisions impose process and internal control requirements, but some impose limitations on when, how, and for what purposes federal grant funds may be spent. Recipients that receive an aggregate amount of federal financial assistance in a given fiscal year that exceeds the Single Audit threshold are subject to the requirements in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F, Audit Requirements, unless otherwise specified in program-specific guidance. To ensure that jurisdictions get the supplies and services they need and to combat fraud, waste and abuse, it is essential that jurisdictions carefully review all vendor payment requests. People often make business decisions based on intuition, anecdotes or institutional lore. Are there special requirements for capital Fraud, waste and abuse can occur even when comprehensive contracts are in place. For example, you can analyze vendor performance using vendor quotations, proposal evaluations and past invoices. Please let us know if you have any questions! WebSourcing & Procurement. As indicated above, there may be ways to strategically spend the ARP/CSLFRF to minimize (but not eliminate) a local governments UG burden. The course will have three parts, including brief overview videos, a 1-day live (Zoom) workshop, and extended daily Zoom Help Desk Office Hours the last two weeks of April (to help with implementation issues and completion of the Project & Expenditure report due by April 30). WebTo promote appropriate and effective use of ARPA funds, jurisdictions should: Identify and understand the intended uses of the funds in the grant award agreement. c. 30B, (1)(b)(9). Any purchase of equipment or real property with SLFRF funds must be consistent with the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart D. Equipment and real property acquired under this program must be used for the originally authorized purpose, unless stated otherwise by Treasury. BenfordsLaw should not be applied to data sets that have stated minimum and maximum values or are assigned numbers, such as interest rates, telephone numbers or social security numbers. For example, in the scatter plot below, each of the points represents one contract. 165 0 obj <> endobj WebStates are required to follow their own procurement procedures as well as the Federal requirements for procurement of recovered materials and inclusion of required contract provisions per 2 C.F.R. Proposals must be solicited from an adequate number of qualified offerors. Bid manipulation can also include allowing a vendor to submit bid documents after the public deadline or disclosing offers made by one vendor to another before the bids are opened publicly. Please limit your input to 500 characters. Requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the specifications. Note: This language must be included in the Bid solicitation. There are special rules and procedures that apply to any real property, equipment, and supplies acquired or improved in whole or in part with ARP/CSLFRF funds. Civil Rights Compliance. Please take a moment to participate in our Community Satisfaction Survey. Procurement and contracting requirements are in place as best practices to mitigate the risk of fraud, waste, or abuse of federal funds and are designed to ensure that federally funded contracts are competitive and fair.[3] 3. If your contract does not permit the vendor to charge a specific fee, then your jurisdiction has a basis for contesting the application of any additional fee. February 2019 Procurement Bulletin Article. Secure websites use HTTPS certificates. Suspicious invoices: even or round invoice amounts, as well as non-sequential invoices, are red flags. Ensure the agency received all of the purchased goods and services. 3) Consider publishing all sole source requests for public notice. In some cases, existing relationships established through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) can be expanded for the provision of services that may fall under the intended use of ARP funding, such as non-profits or public entities like local public school districts or institutions of higher education, which provide public services such as housing support, healthcare, food distribution, or job training programs. In order to maintain the vendors trust and cooperation, the team should only ask for information necessary to achieve the goal of the audit and documents that have a true business justification. 11 Uniform As a result, that staff member should be able to determine if the invoice accurately reflects the contractors work. For this program, the city of Scranton has elected to award . The Uniform Guidance outlines the requirements that pertain to program income at 2 CFR 200.307. Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state. When initiating an audit it is important to inform the vendor exactly which personnel and/or processes you will be auditing. If you determine a need for data that does notal readyexist, you can also create data. L. No. First, your organization must clearly identify to the subrecipient: (1) that the award is a subaward of SLFRF funds; (2) any and all compliance requirements for use of SLFRF funds; and (3) any and all reporting requirements for expenditures of SLFRF funds. Capital Funds Project website. We also are grateful for a group of dedicated county attorneys, including Bob Shaver, Glynn Rollins, Anne Marie Tosco, Aimee Scotton, and Russ Burrell, who provided helpful feedback on the draft policies. A helpful starting point is to pull data from current and historical sources and compile it into a more data-friendly format, such as an Excel spreadsheet file. Thus, the jurisdiction created a ready market for a single vendor without ensuring that drivers were receiving a fair price for the towing and storage services. The expenditures for each eligible project are comprised of cost items. Treasury will presume that each jurisdiction experienced up to $10 million in lost revenue. Was the contract competitively procured and consistent with local procurement and contracting requirements and applicable laws? The jurisdiction stopped making payments to the vendor and began to investigate whether it entered into some sort of bulk purchasing scheme. Including appropriate federal requirements or language in the executed contract, including bonding provisions, Contract Provisions for Non-Federal Entity Contracts Under Federal Awards. Some of these are associated with a particular project; others are associated with the entire grant award. Protect your jurisdiction and thwart bid manipulation by: you suspect bid manipulation, contact the Office of the Inspector Generals fraud, waste and abuse hotline at (800) 322-1323. Please let us know how we can improve this page. Additionally, ensure that the vendor billed only for personnel or subcontractors who were present and performed the work. https://canons.sog.unc.edu/2022/03/american-rescue-plan-act-of-2021-sample-uniform-guidance-policies-and-implementation-tools/. Restricting access to the submitted bids. Recipients that receive an aggregate amount of federal financial assistance in a given fiscal year that exceeds the Single Audit threshold are subject to the requirements in 2 CFR 200 Subpart F, Audit Requirements, unless To start, here is a summary list of UG policies and their triggers. This makes bid manipulation more difficult. Additionally, establishing and maintaining open communication with grantees regarding grant requirements and expectations will help lead to successful project completion. For supply contracts, for example, jurisdictions should verify that the vendor delivered the correct items in good condition and in the correct quantities. Municipalities should also be prepared to justify and document the selection of the MOU or MOA as the most appropriate, reasonable, and cost-effective method to provide services utilizing ARP funds. Boilerplate audit clauses may inadvertently restrict the coverage of an audit or use vague terms that each party interprets differently, leading to disputes. Where feasible, municipalities should consider taking steps to ensure competition is accessible to minority- and women-owned businesses in addition to labor surplus area firms. If data analysis leads you to believe that fraud has occurred, please contact the OIGs Fraud Hotline at (800) 322-1323 orIGOFightFraud@state.ma.us, orfill out our online form. The regulations related to allowable costs and cost principles are complex. Public contracts account for a significant portion of every jurisdictions annual budget. Campus Box 3330 Ensuring that submitted bids are sealed and secured physically or digitally until the bid opening. Such individuals and organizations are beneficiaries and not subject to audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 C.F.R. Track and maintain records of all grant-related documents, including communications, receipts and invoices. Recipients should refer to the Assistance Listing for details on the specific provisions of the Uniform Guidance that do not apply to this program. Before engaging with any vendor, do your research and review your contract closely. To assist you with overcoming this challenge, the Office of the Inspector General will publish a series of articles to help demystify data analytics and its uses. This scope is different than what is included in the current contract and may be considered noncompetitive. To promote accountability, ARPA includes requirements for the administration, monitoring and reporting of funds. 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