arpa procurement requirements

Massachusetts jurisdictions received over $25 billion through ARPA. However, the audit team should be careful not to become too friendly with their auditees. Jurisdictions therefore must dedicate staff to evaluate documents and completed work reports from contractors to make sure that they have followed the contract before issuing payment. For that reason it is not included in the Drop-in document. Alternatively, if the recipient does not have a NICRA, the recipient may elect to use the de minimis rate of 10 percent of the modified total direct costs pursuant to 2 CFR 200.414(f). clarified that funds made available under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) are subject to federal procurement requirements outlined in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), found at Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200 (2 CFR 200). Procurement data can also help detect fraud, such as bid splitting and potential bid rigging. The executive order requires that every goods or services contract or agreement must incorporate an auditing provision permitting the government to audit the vendors books, records and other compilations of data relative to the performance of any provision or requirement of the contract or agreement. 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. 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. SLFRF funds may be, but are not required to be, used along with other funding sources for a given project. This blog post highlights the UG requirements and provides several sample policies and other implementation tools. The team should consider gaining direct access to the vendors systems to facilitate its review. Was the contract competitively procured and consistent with local procurement and contracting requirements and applicable laws? 200.317-318. These data points include dates, prices, quantities and names that are easy to transfer into an Excel spreadsheet for future analysis. If not, many of the bid documents your jurisdiction retains can be used as data sources. For purposes of the Federal procurement requirements, states are defined as the 50 states, the District of Pertinent documents may include invoices, payment information, purchase orders, requisitions, general ledgers, cash disbursements, check registrars, transactional data histories and contract bid documents. The non-Federal entitys documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in 2 CFR 200.317 through 200.327. Secure websites use HTTPS certificates. This requirement builds on the eligible use determination. SLFRF funds beyond those that are available under the revenue loss eligible use category may not be used to meet the non-federal match or cost-share requirements of other federal programs, other than as specifically provided for by statute. The public expects that the local jurisdiction protected their interests, including ensuring that the vendor is qualified and that the towing charges are reasonable; and vendors expect open and fair competitive processes when a local jurisdiction contracts for a service that it needs. Recipients must implement robust internal controls and effective monitoring to ensure compliance with the Cost Principles, which are important for building trust and accountability. Did you know reporting is not the only requirement for use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds? Federal Uniform Guidance rules apply as well. Uniform Guidance? Never heard of it? Dont worry, weve got you covered. To browse a complete catalog of School of Government publications, please visit the Schools website at www.sog.unc.edu or contact the Bookstore, School of Government, CB# 3330 Knapp-Sanders Building, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3330; e-mail sales@sog.unc.edu; telephone 919.966.4119; or fax 919.962.2707. External sources are another area from which data can be gathered and used in an analysis. We will use this information to improve this page. These awards are as follows: Federal procurement laws and regulations typically require that you use a fair, open and competitive process, even though price thresholds, advertising requirements and contract award language may differ from the requirements of Chapter 30B. This blog post is for educational and informational use and may be used for those purposes without permission by providing acknowledgment of its source. endstream endobj startxref Purchases made from a vendor pursuant to a General Services Administration federal supply schedule, available for use by governmental bodies, comply with the requirements of Chapter 30B. All documentation must be maintained for at least 5 years from the end of the award term. One key oversight tool is the vendor audit. Are you missing any data that would help you monitor utilization? WebThe Buy American requirements apply to all Recovery Act funds used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work. It is easy to become overwhelmed when determining how best to use this untapped resource. We also plan to give an overview of some of these techniques in the next article on data in an upcoming edition of the OIG Bulletin. Most Commonwealth agencies and municipalities rely on vendors to supply the goods and services they need to operate. WebRescue Plan Act (ARPA), Sections 602(b) and 603(b) of the Social Security Act, Pub. Please include this language separately in the bid solicitation. Please do not include personal or contact information. In this case, the subaward to a nonprofit is based on the services that the recipient intends to provide (assistance to households experiencing homelessness), and the nonprofit is serving as the subrecipient, providing services on behalf of the recipient. 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. Some page levels are currently hidden. Your organization must agree to provide or make available such records to Treasury upon request, and to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Treasurys Office of Inspector General (OIG), and their authorized representative in order to conduct audits or other investigations. 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. Fraud, waste and abuse can occur even when comprehensive contracts are in place. Bid manipulation undermines fair competition, can cost your jurisdiction money and, in many instances, is illegal. The reviewer should also request receipts or consult with appropriate staff to confirm that the dollar amounts on the invoice are valid before recommending invoice payment. The particular industry, the types of goods or services involved, the size and complexity of the contract, and the applicable regulatory requirements are just a few factors that can increase an organizations risk of fraud, waste and abuse. All rights reserved. c. 30B, (1)(b)(9). Please limit your input to 500 characters. As a result, that staff member should be able to determine if the invoice accurately reflects the contractors work. Subrecipients are subject to an audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR part 200, subpart F regarding audit requirements, whereas contractors are not subject to an audit pursuant to the Single Audit Act and 2 CFR part 200, subpart F regarding audit requirements. WebA nonfederal entity with federal expenditures in excess of $750,000 is required by law to have a single audit completed. When the jurisdiction tried to reduce the quantity of future deliveries, the vendor threatened to charge the jurisdiction a higher non-bulk rate. Extending the contract to include additional time may be deemed noncompetitive, because the contract expired before services began. WebPrerequisite: None Class Level: Basic Instructional Method: Online - MCPPO Online Class Technical Specifications Advanced Prep: None Class dates and times: April 18, 2023, Other important aspects to consider are the audit period, access to records and personnel, format of records, time needed, failure-to-produce penalties and notification requirements (planned versus surprise reviews). Generally, your organization must maintain records and financial documents for five years after all funds have been expended or returned to Treasury, as outlined in paragraph 4.c. Direct questions related to design and construction procurement to the Attorney Generals Office. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is committed to making government work better by preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse of public funds and resources. The short answer is: it depends. If you seek federal reimbursement for your supplies or services procurement meaning that you make the purchase first then you generally must abide by the requirements of Chapter 30B. Further, costs must be reasonable and allocable as outlined in 2 CFR 200.404 and 2 CFR 200.405. %%EOF Treasurys final rule, program guidance, and the Uniform Guidance outline the types of costs that are allowable, including certain audit costs. Identifying the key vendor personnel is also an important part of the audit. These practices will also ensure that ARPA funding is used for its intended purpose: helping communities recover from the devastating health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal procurement rules not applicable to certain ARPA-funded projects Tuesday, August 30, 2022. Boilerplate audit clauses may inadvertently restrict the coverage of an audit or use vague terms that each party interprets differently, leading to disputes. With more complete information, local government officials are now looking to finalize (at least some) expenditure decisions. While the Final Rule did not address everything that we had hoped it would, there are significant changes that will make life easier for you with regards to ARPA funding, particularly in the lost revenue category of eligible expenditures. Public contracts account for a significant portion of every jurisdictions annual budget. As you may know, under Section 1(b)(21) of Chapter 30B contracts for the towing and storage of motor vehicles are exempt from the Uniform Procurement Act. of the Award Terms and Conditions. Publishing and documenting clear standards in procurement solicitations and evaluation criteria on how a municipality will determine a responsive and responsible. Municipalities should ensure that factors that may be overly restrictive to free and open competition are not included, such as placing unreasonable requirements on vendors to qualify or establishing any steps in the procurement process that are arbitrary or irrelevant to the award of contracts necessary and reasonable for the implementation of the use of funds under this award. The goal of a vendor fraud audit is to determine whether the vendor intentionally acted to defraud the contracting organization. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Taking incremental steps and continually finding areas for improvement will create a robust data program and help you make informed, data-driven decisions. Registration closes twoweeks before the class start date. In addition to Karas post, there is another new post on Procuring Single Audit services for ARPA funds. Program income does not include interest earned on advances of Federal funds, rebates, credits, discounts, or interest on rebates, credits, or discounts. If you need assistance, please contact the Office of the Inspector General. This page is located more than 3 levels deep within a topic. As a result, your jurisdiction should consider using a competitive procurement process to ensure that there is open and fair competition with responsible vendors for these kinds of service contracts. %PDF-1.6 % They are still federal grant funds, subject to all the award terms (be sure to read this document thoroughly) and most of the provisions of the federal Uniform Guidance (UG), which is the set of regulations that apply to the administration of federal awards. Quality of contracts and documents: identify vendors with poorly written contracts or payment documents. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. This outlier may warrant further investigation. (A) statutory restrictions under the ARPA, which include: offsetting a reduction in net tax revenue, and deposits into pension funds, and (B) other restrictions on use, which include: debt service and replenishing reserves, settlements and judgments, and general restrictions. (See Final Rule pp. 601 0 obj <>stream October 2017 Procurement Bulletin Article, Recently, our Office learned that a vendor included administrative fees in invoices issued to a housing authority under a revenue-generating contract. Sole-source contractors: is the vendor really the only company who can provide a particular good or service? Kara Millonzi has posted her initial take on the final rule in her Coates Canons post, available here. They are SLFRF recipients that will report directly to Treasury. This includes receipts or invoices from vendors or subcontractors that provided supplies or labor. Your local jurisdiction creates a demand for towing services because local officials have the authority to have vehicles towed when there are parking violations on public property or drivers need emergency roadside assistance. WebThe City of Detroit Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) requests proposals from qualified Respondents to provide procurement supportive services including reviewing &creating scopes of work, creating bid solicitations, contract development, contract negotiations and preparation of critical See more Buyers Requirements SLFRF funds transferred to subrecipients are also subject to reporting and Uniform Guidance requirements. Department Directory | Privacy Policy | SiteMap | 2023 City of Providence. Check to make sure that the supplies and services that the vendor provided met the contract terms and followed the defined scope of work. Tie grant disbursements to deliverables, milestones or other reportable actions when possible. During this session, WebThe Department of Education posted final requirements on ARPA ESSER in July 2021. BenfordsLaw is a mathematical observation about the frequency distribution of the first digits within a set of naturally occurring numbers. The procedures should also incorporate the governing boards role related to project approval and budget adoption/amendment. Federal Register Publication Vol 85 No. Jurisdictions should segregate these duties in order to create an additional layer of invoice review and further protect public funds. Are there existing sources for that data? The Office of the Inspector General often reviews vendor invoices and other documents as part of its duty to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse. 2 CFR Part 25 (Universal Identifier & System for Award Management) If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site. Benfords Law analysis: this analysis may highlight a vendor with billing discrepancies that warrant further review. Data also can help identify vulnerabilities or concerns about fraud, waste or abuse. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: Sample Uniform Guidance Policies and Implementation Tools, -Boards of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, & Substance Abuse, -Affordable Housing & Minimum Housing Codes, -Professional Responsibility for Government Attorneys, Purchasing, Construction, Property Transactions, -Purchasing / Purchase Contracts / Purchase Orders, Assistance Listing: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, US Treasury State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Compliance and Reporting Guidance, Subpart C, Pre-Federal Award Requirements and Contents of Federal Awards, Subpart D, Post Federal; Award Requirements, Project and Expenditure Report Tracking Template, Blog post explaining allowable cost and cost principles, Sample Allowable Cost and Cost Principles Policy, Sample Employee Effort Certification Form for 100% Covered Employees, Sample Employee Effort Certification Form for Less Than 100% Covered Employees, as outlined in paragraph 4.c. Mayor Smiley wants to hear from you! The results of the survey can be transferred to a spreadsheet. What is the difference between Suspension and Debarment? Webprocurement, with 2 CFR 200.319(b) addressing engineering services procurement guidelines. Fraud, waste and abuse can occur even when comprehensive contracts are in.! As a result, that staff member should be able to determine whether the vendor acted! As outlined in 2 CFR 200.404 and 2 CFR 200.404 and 2 CFR 200.404 and 2 CFR.! Should also incorporate the governing boards role related to design and construction to... In excess of $ 750,000 is required by law to have a single audit completed informational use and may deemed... Over $ 25 billion through ARPA included in the Drop-in document used for those purposes without by. Is illegal transferred to a spreadsheet and services that the vendor provided met the contract to include additional may. 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