The Recovery Act: Dealing with Closeout

Transcription

1 The Recovery Act: Dealing with Closeout Kary Burin, Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho 1

2 Six Idaho agencies perform weatherization ti for low and moderate income families. CAP CCOA El-Ada EICAP SEICAA SCCAP The Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho (CAPAI) administers Federal Grants on behalf of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW). CAPAI also conducts quality monitoring and fiscal monitoring of the Weatherization program in partnership with IDHW. 2

3 Reporting Requirements PAGE Reports Reconciliation CAPAI reports invoices accrued in the current month IDHW reports cash outlay one month lag time OMB Agencies report vendors with cumulative expenditures of greater than $25,000 for the grant period Agencies report their labor for DOE job calculations CAPAI calculates vendor labor based on Davis-Bacon reports 3

4 Stt/L State/Local Partnership IDHW approved an ARRA-only award process to fund ARRA start-up for up to two months of estimated costs All six agencies requested an award for ARRA Three of the six agencies requested an award for the ARRA Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) grant IDHW participated in monthly teleconferences, quarterly face-to- face meetings and in quarterly quality monitoring of weatherized units 4

5 Recovery Act funds and other DOE funds Idaho agencies billed their inventory of bulk materials, i.e. insulation, to the LIHEAP Weatherization program The Energy Audit tool is used to allocate costs upon job completion Costs are allocated back to ARRA so that DOE and ARRA are not mixed 5

6 Disposition iti or Utilization of Equipment Equipment used for ARRA production was purchased with LIHEAP Weatherization funds Older equipment that was replaced with equipment bought during ARRA was sold and those dollars were credited back in the current year to the original funding source; the credit was used for future weatherization production 6

7 Ensure Terms and Conditions of Closeout are met Rolling 30, 60, 90 day plans reviewed monthly Annual Comprehensive Monitoring Annual OMB financial audits CAPAI auditor reviews agency audit outcomes CAPAI/IDHW Quarterly monitoring of 10% of completed ARRA units Prorated monthly financial and production goals to track progress to project targets Monthly report to Executive Directors: % spent and % of contract t period If the % spent lags the % of contract period elapsed by more than 10%, the Energy Programs Coordinator follows up with agency for recovery plan 7

8 Contractor t Documentation ti CAPAI/IDHW conduct file monitoring at each agency Contractor Renovator certification documentation Agency inspection and sign-off on work completed Appropriate building inspector approval documentation Davis-Bacon (D-B) Four agencies, and CAPAI, have D-B Compliance Coordinators Contractor is not paid until reporting is submitted In a best practice, the purchase order indicates if there is a Davis- Bacon requirement 8

9 Final Documentation ti and Submittal Reconciled Final invoices zero out grant Confirm number of completed units meets or exceeds contract t Ensure average investment per unit and maximum investment guidelines have been met Agencies notify CAPAI Fiscal Officer and D-B Coordinator No inventory or equipment issues because items were purchased with LIHEAP Weatherization funds 9

10 Commun ica te L ayo ff s and han dl e Unemp loymen t Benefit s Layoffs Best Practices Communicated temporary nature of grant funding at time of hire Referred laid off employees to temp agency for job opportunities Planned well ahead to phase out the workforce so they weren t all competing for the same jobs At the time of the announcement, provided each employee with a written letter detailing: final day of work, health benefit duration and COBRA costs, how they would receive their final check, etc. Two agencies have fee-for-service arms that have created jobs for ARRA hires 10

11 Communicate Layoffs and handle Unemployment Benefits Layoffs Best Practices Held a celebration of a job well done, paid for with non-federal funds Involved the Board of Directors to congratulate the crews and identify possible employment opportunities Worked with the local Department of Labor to help streamline applying for unemployment Employees who were laid-off, due to the end of the original ARRA grant, received a letter of recommendation 11

12 Communicate Layoffs and handle Unemployment Benefits Layoffs Lessons Learned Two weeks advance notice is better for laid-off employee and remaining staff morale Transparency about the temporary nature of the funding means no surprises Communicate lay-offs to a group, rather than individually Give them the option to not work for the rest of the day It is OK to show emotion and thank each person individually Pay attention to the staff that remains, it is very difficult for them 12

13 Questions and Answers 13