NY

In July 2017, FEMA reported that it awarded 252 projects under the PA alternative procedures pilot program valued at $11.9 billion, with just 26 of those projects (10.32 percent) closed. During our fieldwork, we gained access to FEMA’s grant management system of record and reviewed supporting documentation for the project worksheets in our scope to determine if FEMA followed its criteria when validating cost estimates. However, FEMA did not sufficiently document actions that it took to validate subrecipient cost estimates to ensure costs are reasonable. Of the three obligated projects we reviewed during our fieldwork, we did not find evidence that FEMA completed the required steps identified to validate the reasonableness of subrecipient cost estimates.

We identified that the Diocese generally accounted for FEMA funds on a project-by-project basis as required by Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines.  However, it did not follow Federal procurement standards in awarding two contracts totaling $897,955. The Diocese and its parishes did not provide supporting documentation for procurements or their local procurement processes.  This occurred primarily because the Diocese was not familiar with certain Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines.  As FEMA’s grantee, New York should have done more to ensure the Diocese was aware of and complied with Federal procurement standards and documentation requirements.  FEMA should emphasize New York’s role in proper grant administration.