City of PortervilleLocal Government

2023 – 003: Reporting Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Program Name: Airport Improvement Program Assistance Listing Number: 20.106 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: 3-06-0190-019-2022 Award Period: September 12, 2022 to September 22, 2026 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: The City's agreement the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration indicates that a SF-425 (Federal Financial Report), should be submitted by December 31st of each year the grant is open. Condition: No SF-425 was submitted as of December 31, 2022. Questioned Costs: None Context: 1 of 1 SF-425 reports tested. Cause: There was a gap in the City's tracking system for submitting reports causing the requirement to submit the SF-425 to be overlooked. Effect: The City was out of compliance with reporting requirements for this grant. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that the City review its process for identifying and tracking reporting requirements to ensure that all required reports are submitted timely. Views of Responsible Officials: We acknowledge the single audit finding that the SF-425 report was not submitted as of December 31, 2022. However, we would like to clarify that the project in question did not commence until June 2023. As such, there were no financial activities to report. We recognize the importance of timely submission of financial reports to ensure compliance with federal grant requirements and will ensure the SF-425 report will be appropriately filed. Upon review, we found that this oversight was due to miscommunication with the grantor regarding reporting deadlines. We have been in communication with the grantor and are in the process of completing and filing the required form. To prevent future occurrences, we are revising internal review procedures and establishing automated calendar reminders, to ensure that in the future, SF-425 reports will be submitted for all reporting periods. We are fully committed to maintaining compliance with all federal reporting requirements and will continue to improve our processes to prevent such issues in the future.

2023 – 004: Suspension and Debarment Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury Federal Program Name: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: SLFRP1108 - 2021 Award Period: July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria or Specific Requirement: 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Award requires compliance with the provisions of procurement, suspension, and debarment. The City should have internal controls designed to ensure compliance with those provisions. Condition: The City was unable to provide evidence that suspension and debarment verification was performed. Questioned Costs: None Context: 2 of 5 there was no SAM.gov check available and no certification of non-debarment on a contract with the vendor. For 1 of 5 there was a SAM.gov check available, yet there was no evidence of when the check took place. Cause: Procedures were not in place to retain evidence of debarment status check, and when the check took place. Effect: The City is unable to provide evidence that internal control procedures over suspension and debarment compliance were performed in a timely manner. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that the City add a section to its standard contractor and subrecipient contracts for the other party to certify they are not suspended or otherwise debarred. In addition, internal controls should be updated to ensure that evidence of the performance of suspension and debarment compliance is retained for future reference. Views of Responsible Officials: In response to the audit finding regarding the suspension and debarment status for all vendors before contract execution, we have communicated with all relevant staff on the importance of conducting debarment status checks prior to procurement and the requirement of SAM.gov check, with date noted as verification of the check, and evidence be saved in the contract file or the requirement that a certification of non-debarment status clause be included in contracts. To ensure ongoing compliance, we have instituted regular internal audits to verify SAM.gov checks are being conducted and properly documented for all contracts.

2023 – 005: Cash Management Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Program Name: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Assistance Listing Number: 97.083 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: EMW-2020-FF-01374 - 2020 Award Period: February 27, 2022 to February 26, 2025 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria or Specific Requirement: As a best practice, a supervisory-level person, other than the preparer of a reimbursement request, should review the request to ensure accuracy and completeness of data and information in the request. Condition: Reimbursement requests were not reviewed by anyone other than the preparer of the requests. Questioned Costs: None Context: 4 of 4 reimbursement requests tested were submitted without someone other than the preparer reviewing them. Cause: Controls for review by someone other than the preparer had not yet been implemented. Effect: Errors in reimbursement requests could go undetected. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that reimbursement requests be reviewed by a supervisory-level person who is not the preparer of the requests. Views of Responsible Officials: We acknowledge the audit finding regarding the absence of supervisory-level review for reimbursement requests to grantors. We have established a mandatory review process where all reimbursement requests must be thoroughly reviewed by a designated Finance staff member who did not prepare the request. A final approver (i.e. supervisor or director) will authorize the reimbursement request before submission to the grantor. We have communicated the importance of this review process to our team to ensure compliance, completeness and accuracy. We will monitor the process to prevent recurrence.

2023 – 006: Reporting Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Program Name: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Assistance Listing Number: 97.083 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: EMW-2020-FF-01374 - 2020 Award Period: February 27, 2022 to February 26, 2025 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Award requires compliance with the provisions of reporting program performance. The City should have internal controls designed to ensure compliance with those provisions. Condition: 6 SAFER funded positions were reported while there were only 5 SAFER funded positions and reports were not reviewed by anyone other than the preparer of the reports. Questioned Costs: None Context: Inaccurate reporting was noted on 1 of 2 reports tested and 2 of 2 reports tested were submitted without being reviewed by anyone other than the preparer. Cause: The 6th Firefighter was hired on 6/1/23 but was not coded with the SAFER Grant base account number in payroll at the time of hire. His base account was corrected effective 7/1/23. The report was not reviewed by anyone other than the preparer. If reviewed by someone other than the preparer, the discrepancy may have been noted prior to the report being submitted. Additionally, controls for review by someone other than the preparer had not yet been implemented. Effect: Reporting for the quarter ended 6/30/2023 was inaccurate. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that reports be reviewed by a supervisory-level person who is not the preparer of the report. Views of Responsible Officials: In response to the audit finding of 6 SAFER funded positions reported in the Semi-Annual Performance Report while there were 5 SAFER funded positions in the reimbursement request for quarter ended June 30, 2023, we determined the cause of the discrepancy was due to a 6th Firefighter who was hired in the quarter ended June 30, 2023, that was coded inaccurately in payroll. We have identified and corrected the base account number in payroll and the employee’s salaries and benefits are now accurately recorded under the appropriate account number. We have established a mandatory review process where all reimbursement requests and performance reports must be reviewed and approved by a designated supervisory-level staff member who did not prepare the report before submission to the grantor. We have communicated the importance of this review process in ensuring compliance, completeness and accuracy. We will monitor the process to prevent recurrence.