Q: What is “sub-recipient grants monitoring”?
A: A sub-recipient is a non-federal third-party entity that expends Federal awards received from a pass-through entity to carry out a Federal program. Sub-recipient grant monitoring is the oversight of these federal awards by the Contracts and Grants Unit of the Vermont Agency of Transportation.
Q: What is the purpose of “sub-recipient grant monitoring”?
A: The purpose of sub-recipient grant monitoring is to supervise grant financial paperwork in each town and ensure that all practices are in compliance with federal and state regulations. This monitoring will help make certain that each town has all the proper paperwork and documentation for future audits. The Contracts and Grants Unit will need to meet with either the town clerk, town treasurer, or the town administrator who deals with Agency of Transportation grants.
Q: When will this monitoring occur?
A: The monitoring will take place throughout the year. The Contracts and Grants Unit will contact each town office to set up individual meetings.
Q: What is an A-133 Audit?
A: An A-133 audit (also known as the “Single Audit” or “OMB A-133” audit) is an organization-wide examination of an entity that expends $750,000 or more of federal funds, grants, awards, or assistance. Usually performed annually, an A-133 audit provides assurance to the United States Federal Government as to the management and use of funds by recipients such as states, cities, universities, and non-profit organizations. The audit is performed by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and encompasses both financial and compliance components. According to law the following rules must be abided by:
- An A-133 audit is required for any town or organization receiving $750,000 or more in federal funding in a given fiscal year.
- A town or organization has 9 months after the closing of their fiscal year to provide the granting state agency with the completed audit.
- Every 3 years a town or organization must put their audit out to bid. While they can choose to continue using the same CPA after the bidding, this procurement process must occur.
Q: What does a CPA look for when performing an A-133 Audit?
A: For a complete list of all requirements, please see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/circulars/
Q: What is a “debarment check”?
A: All sub-recipients must perform a debarment check on all their vendors before hiring. This check ensures that vendors are not debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded by any Federal or State department or agency from doing business with the Federal or State Government. You can find a list of Vermont debarred businesses at the following link: https://bgs.vermont.gov/purchasing-contracting/debarment
Q: What is “procurement”?
A: Procurement is the acquisition of goods and services. It is favorable that goods and services are provided at the best possible cost in terms of quality, quantity, time, and location. In emergency situations (before the 180- day mark), a job is not required to go out to bid. However, once 180 days have gone by after a given event, before hiring a vendor, the job must be put out to bid. This ensures that all vendors are given a fair chance to do business. The goal of procurement is to encourage fair and open competition between businesses and mitigate the chance of corruption and/or fraud.
Q: What are the financial management forms?
A: Any forms and records of finances in the office. Any charts of accounts, journals, ledgers, reconciliation, data processing, and reporting systems. Along with these please include any drawdown requests, timesheets, invoices bank records, payroll records, receipts/disbursements, etc.
Q: What are “drawdowns and payments”?
A: A drawdown or payment is a transfer of funds from one account to another. You must keep record of any money you draw out of a grant. For instance, if you have grant for $100,000 and you use $20,000 to pay for a project, you must keep record of that payment and the remaining grant balance. Along with these records, you should keep receipts of all payments to and from your town’s bank account(s).
Q: What is the “registration to do business document”?
A: Please see “Secretary of State Document”. They are the same document.
Q: What is the “Secretary of State Document”?
A: The Secretary of State document is an online document that proves a vendor has the ability to legally do business in the State of Vermont. For all vendors your town hires you should print off this document. If your town has chosen a small vendor or individual to do work, you may have trouble finding this document for their company. Please ask these vendors to provide proof they can legally work in the state of Vermont. Include this proof in your file. Instruction on how to find this document can be found below.
Q: Where do I find the “Secretary of State Document”?
A: First, go to the Secretary of State’s website located at the following web address: https://www.sec.state.vt.us/corporationsbusiness-services/searches-databases/business-search.aspx. The page will provide various search options in boxes. Click on the appropriate box, which will link to a search page. Search for the information that corresponds with the box title (i.e.: Vendor’s name in the box titled “Corporation Search.”)
Q: What are “Davis-Bacon Wages”?
A: The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States' federal law which established the requirement for paying prevailing wages on public works projects. All federal government construction contracts, and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits paid on similar projects. Information on these wages for the state of Vermont can be found at the following web address: https://vtrans.vermont.gov/civil-rights/doing-business/contractors-center/davis-bacon
If you have any further questions, please call: (802) 828-0631