Flooding

Colorado’s Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (Colorado) did not effectively oversee its subrecipient, Frasier Meadows, to ensure it was aware of and followed Federal procurement regulations and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines.  In addition, FEMA should have ensured Colorado delivered assistance to Frasier Meadows consistent with the FEMA-State Agreement and the State Administrative Plan.  We recommended the Regional Administrator, FEMA Region VIII, disallow $5.57 million for contracts and direct Colorado to work with Frasier Meadows officials to ensure they implement their updated Federal procurement policies and procedures in the event of a future disaster.  FEMA officials agreed with both recommendations.  Prior to final issuance of this report, FEMA took action to resolve and close both recommendations.  No further action is required.

We conducted this audit to determine whether the Board accounted for and expended FEMA grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Board sustained an estimated $90.6 million in damages caused by severe storms and flooding that occurred in August 2016. The Ascension Parish School Board (Board) accounted for disaster-related costs correctly, as Federal regulations require. However, the Board did not follow all Federal procurement regulations in awarding $25.6 million in disaster-related contracts, resulting in $9.1 million in ineligible costs. Additionally, there were issues with direct administrative costs related to a Recovery Program and Grants Management services contract. This occurred because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not ensure the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Louisiana) monitored the Board’s subgrant activities for compliance with Federal procurement requirements.

The County estimated that it had sustained $2.7 million in damages from severe storms and flooding in February 2017. We conducted the audit early in the grant process to identify areas in which the County may need additional technical assistance and monitoring to ensure compliance with Federal requirements. DHS OIG found that the County does not have adequate procurement policies, procedures, and business practices that comply fully with all Federal standards for its planned procurements, totaling approximately $500,000. At the time of our fieldwork, FEMA had not completed project worksheets to define the scope of disaster work. At this early stage in the grant process, Utah needs to provide the County with additional technical assistance and increased monitoring. Doing so should provide FEMA reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that the County will spend the $2.7 million in total estimated disaster-related costs according to Federal requirements.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated that the City of Cedar Falls, Iowa (City), had sustained approximately $893,000 in damage caused by severe storms and flooding from September 21 through October 3, 2016. We audited early in the grant process to identify areas in which the City may need additional technical assistance or monitoring to ensure compliance with Federal procurement requirements. Except for procurement, the City’s policies, procedures, and business practices appear to be adequate to account for and expend FEMA grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA policies. Specifically, the City’s procurement policies did not provide sufficient opportunities for disadvantaged firms to compete for contracts, or prevent awarding contracts to debarred or suspended contractors. After we discussed these issues, City officials moved quickly to modify procurement policies to comply with Federal requirements.