Worcester County, MarylandLocal Government

Federal Agency: US Deparment of the Treasury Federal Program Name: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: COVID-19 ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Pass-Through Agency: N/A Pass-Through Number(s): N/A Compliance Requirement: Procurement – Suspension and Debarment Award Period: March 3, 2021 - December 31, 2024, liquidated by December 31, 2026 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: Uniform Guidance (2 CFR §§200.214 and 200.318) prohibits non‑Federal entities from awarding contracts supported by Federal awards to parties that are suspended or debarred. In addition, 2 CFR §200.303 requires non‑Federal entities to establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal awards, including documented policies and procedures to ensure consistent compliance with Federal requirements. Verification of vendor eligibility is typically performed through review of the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) or equivalent documentation prior to contract execution. Condition: During our audit, we noted a deficiency related to suspension and debarment verification and documentation. Specifically, for the procurement transactions tested, Worcester County, Maryland did not document verification that the vendor was not suspended or debarred prior to contract execution. In addition, the County does not have a formally documented suspension and debarment policy. While management indicated that suspension and debarment checks may be performed in practice, the absence of written policies and procedures resulted in inconsistent application and documentation of this required compliance procedure. Questioned costs: N/A Context: Uniform Guidance requires non‑federal entities to ensure that vendors and contractors receiving federal funds are not suspended or debarred from participating in federally funded programs. Effective compliance with this requirement is supported by documented policies and procedures that require verification (e.g., review of the System for Award Management (SAM.gov)) prior to entering into contracts. Cause: The County had not formally documented policies and procedures related to suspension and debarment verification and relied on informal practices and staff knowledge. As a result, suspension and debarment checks were not consistently documented or retained prior to contract execution. Effect: Failure to consistently document suspension and debarment verification increases the risk that the County may enter into contracts with vendors that are ineligible to participate in federally funded programs. While no instances of contracting with suspended or debarred vendors were identified and no questioned costs were noted, these conditions represent noncompliance with Federal procurement documentation requirements and reduce the County’s ability to demonstrate consistent adherence to Uniform Guidance. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: We recommend that the County develop and formally document a suspension and debarment policy that requires verification and documentation of vendor eligibility (e.g., SAM.gov review) for all contracts supported by Federal awards prior to execution of the contract. Management should also consider implementing standardized checklists or review controls to promote consistent compliance. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management concurs. Worcester County plans to update the County purchasing, financial and grant policies to ensure debarment and suspension compliance by implementing procedures aligned with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Uniform Guidance (primarily 2 CFR Part 200) and the governmentwide debarment rules in 2 CFR Part 180, as adopted by the awarding agency. The corrective action includes implementing a written procurement policy which states that the county will not contract with or issue subawards to parties that are suspended or debarred when federal funds are involved. The Grant/Budget Office will maintain open communication with Procurement regarding federally funded grant projects that will be advertised for bid. After bids are received and before the evaluation committee reviews or recommends an award, the Grant/Budget Office will search the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) exclusion database for each vendor that submitted a bid. A PDF or screenshot of the SAM search for each vendor will be retained in a grant and procurement file. All other federal grants under procurement threshold will need county departments to reach out to the Grant/Budget office before choosing vendors. Departments will need to list their potential vendors for the federal grant and email the Grant/Budget office for debarment verification before moving forward with expending federal grant funding. A PDF or screenshot of the SAM search for each vendor will be sent to the department and a copy kept by Grants/Budget office as well.