CITY OF HARTFORDLocal Government

Finding 2023-002: Significant Deficiency - Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Federal Program: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Pass Through Entity: N/A Criteria: The City should have procedures for verifying that an entity with which it plans to enter into a covered transaction is not suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded. Condition/Context: During our testing of this program, we noted that the City does not have a control or process to review and document that vendors are not suspended or debarred. Cause: The City’s purchasing policy does not address suspension or debarment. Questioned Costs: Unknown Effect: The City could transact with vendors who are suspended or debarred. Recommendation: We recommend that the City update its purchase policy to cover review of vendors for suspension and debarment prior to contracting with them. City Response and Corrective Action Plan: The City immediately took corrective action and updated its processes to ensure new vendors are reviewed for suspension and debarment. The updated process was effective as of May 2024. All current vendors have also since been reviewed.

Finding No. 2023-003 Significant Deficiency - Reporting Federal Program: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Pass Through Entity: N/A Criteria: The City is required to submit an annual Project and Expenditure Report which lists project current period obligations, cumulative obligations, current period expenditures, and cumulative expenditures. Condition/Context: The Project and Expenditure Report submitted by the City for fiscal year 2023 expenditures did not report the current year expenditures on the projects matching the amount expended during fiscal year 2023. The same project expenditures were reported as current year expenditures on both the fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023 report. Cumulative expenditures did not total the amounts reported as current year expenditures during the prior year and current year. Cause: The City was unaware of all the specific requirements. Questioned Costs: Unknown Effect: The Project and Expenditure Report does not properly report the current period expenditures on the City's projects which Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery awards were used to fund. Recommendation: We recommend that the City perform an additional review of reporting requirements for the award. City Response and Corrective Action Plan: We reviewed how we entered the information regarding both CSLFR expenditures for Centennial Park and S. Main Street. We identified that it should have shown: 2023 Report – Nothing for Centennial Park as a part of a total budget of $400,000 2024 Report - $400,000 for Centennial Park as a part of a total budget of $1,812,697. 2023 Report – Nothing for South Main 2024 Report - $585,884 for South Main as a part of a total budget of $$860,665 If it is deemed that an amended report needs to be submitted, we will do that.