Procurement – Reasonable Costs

Procurement – Reasonable Costs

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Second Appeal Brief

1603
PA ID# 071-02E99-00; St. Mary’s Academy
PW ID# 17387; Procurement – Reasonable Costs
08/04/2015

Conclusion: The contract security services performed at St. Mary’s Academy were improperly procured pursuant to 2 C.F.R. Part 215; however, the actual costs were reasonable under OMB Circular A-122.

Summary Paragraph

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage to St. Mary’s Academy.  FEMA determined that the facility was eligible for replacement.  The Applicant relocated the school to a temporary location and contacted security service firms via phone and email requesting bid proposals.  Based on the proposals, the Applicant selected three security firms for services from August 2007 to July 2010.  FEMA prepared several versions of PW 17387, obligating actual costs.  The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) subsequently performed OIG Audit DD-11-15, which found that the Applicant improperly procured security services by not allowing open competition.  The OIG recommended that FEMA deobligate all funding.  FEMA concurred with the OIG’s finding, but awarded reasonable costs, which FEMA determined to be the lowest rates among the proposals, deobligating $75,862.86.  In its first appeal, the Applicant argued that it properly procured security services and that the actual costs were reasonable.  FEMA denied the first appeal, finding that the Applicant did not properly procure the services, further deobligating $40,089.77 based on new information submitted in response to the Request for Information.  The Applicant reiterates its first appeal position on second appeal.

Authorities and Second Appeals

  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.0(b)(3) (2005).
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.1.
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.43.
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.44.
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.45.
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.46.
  • OMB Circular A-122.
  • Second Appeal Analysis, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, Inc., FEMA-4029-DR-TX.

Headnotes

  • Per 2 C.F.R. § 215.1, Part 215 establishes uniform administrative requirements for grants awarded to Private Non-Profits.  § 215.0(b)(3) states that, where state and local governments provide subawards to a PNP, Part 215 applies. 
    • The Applicant is a PNP.
  • 2 C.F.R. § 215.43 requires that all procurement transactions be conducted in a manner to provide open and free competition, awards be made to the bidder whose bid is responsive to the solicitation, and solicitations clearly set forth all requirements to the bidder.
    • The Applicant did not provide documentation showing that it solicited bids from multiple companies.
    • The Applicant, nonetheless, selected bidders who were responsive.
  • Section 215.44 outlines procurement procedures.
    • The Applicant did not demonstrate that it had written procurement procedures.
    • The Applicant considered and selected small, minority-owned, and/or women-owned businesses, where practicable.
    • The Applicant utilized fixed-price contracts with a set number of guards at flat rates and selected responsible contractors who possessed the potential to perform successfully.
    • The Applicant did provide FEMA with procurement documents upon request.
  • Section 215.46 requires retention of procurement records containing the basis for contract selection, justification for lack of competition, and basis for award cost or price.
    • The Applicant did not provide records.
  • Section 215.62 allows FEMA to use legally available remedies when an applicant fails to comply.  OMB Circular A-122 states that a cost is reasonable if it does not exceed that which a prudent person in the same situation would incur.
    • The Applicant provided supporting documentation establishing that the selected rates were reasonable.

 

Excerpt from:  

Procurement – Reasonable Costs

Former Readington Firefighter Jeffrey Scheurer To Be Honored at Sunday’s National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service

EMMITSBURG, MD. — Jeffrey Scheurer of Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, will be one of 107 fallen firefighters to be honored at the 2014 National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service on Sunday, October 12.

The service will take place at 10 a.m. at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.   Scheuerer, 35, a member of the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service, was on duty conducting a controlled burn along Route 629 near Round Valley Reservoir in Clinton Township when he was struck by a vehicle and killed.

Mr. Scheurer was also a 21-year member of the Readington Volunteer Fire Company, in which he had served since he was a teenager. Further information about Mr. Scheurer can be found on the Fallen Firefighter Honor Roll at http://www.firehero.org/fallen-firefighter/jeffrey-scheuerer/

His name will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the Academy grounds. The national tribute is sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration.

 More than 5,000 people, including members of Congress, Administration officials and other dignitaries, members of the fire service, and families and friends of the fallen firefighters are expected to attend.

Families of the fallen heroes will receive memorial flags flown over the U. S. Capitol and the National Memorial. Members of the fire service, honor guard units and pipe and drum units from across the U.S. will participate in this national tribute.

Mr. Scheurer was one of two New Jersey firefighters who lost their lives in 2013. Hightstown Fire Police Lieutenant David C. Lidke, 51, of Hightstown Engine Company No. 1 died after returning from an emergency call on December 23, 2013.

The annual tribute for fallen firefighters is sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration.

The event is open to the public. Live streaming information—including satellite coordinates—is available at http://media.firehero.org.  The media contact is Tom Olshanski at 202-400-0029 or Thomas.Olshanski@fema.dhs.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Continue at source:  

Former Readington Firefighter Jeffrey Scheurer To Be Honored at Sunday’s National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service

New York State Fire Training Facility Granted New, Fully Equipped Truck

Replaces 39-Year Old Vehicle Used to Train NYS Firefighters

New York, NY — The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) has received a federal grant to purchase a new, well outfitted fire truck that will be used in the training of New York State’s firefighters that attend training at the New York State Academy of Fire Science, FEMA’s Ms. Dale McShine announced here today.

As Director of FEMA’s Grants Division in New York, which administers the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program for Region II, Ms. McShine said that the grant was for $382,000, and totaled $450,000 with the local share of $67,500.

New York State is home to approximately 1786 municipal fire departments in the state, staffed by roughly 96,100 volunteer firefighters and 18,500 career personnel, according to Deputy Chief David Martinichio of OFPC’s Fire Operations and Training Branch.  Through a network of 400 part-time instructors and 120 full-time fire protection specialists, OFPC annually trains 40,000 – 50,000 firefighters per year with 6,000 to 7,000 attending the residential fire training facility, located in Schuyler County. 

The1975 vehicle no longer met current requirements, Deputy Chief Martinichio said, adding that “the condition of the vehicle and the high cost of repairs made it unsafe and too costly to keep in service.” The new engine has a six-person cab, can pump 1500 gallons per minute, and has an array of modern ladders, and other up-to-date equipment, all of which meet the criteria of the National Fire Protection Association. 

DHSES Commissioner Jerome M. Hauer said, “I am pleased that the Office of Fire Prevention and Control is able to take advantage of the Assistance for Firefighters Grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Training is an integral part of any firefighter’s toolkit and having state of the art equipment for this purpose will allow New York’s firefighters to improve their skills to better aid the communities they serve.”

FEMA’s Dale McShine said that the AFG program has been aiding firefighters and other first responders since 2001, “providing critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources” needed to help the public and emergency responders from fire and related hazards.  “This award to New York State’s Fire Training Program, with its considerable reach,” she said, “is especially gratifying.”

State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens added, “the new engine will be a welcome addition to the current cadre of fire apparatus utilized at the Academy of Fire Science and will allow us to continue to provide the quality training that New York’s firefighters expect and deserve”.

“This is the first year that state fire training academies have been eligible to apply for AFG awards,” the Academy’s Assistant Business Officer Kathyrene O’Connor pointed out, adding that provisions for grants to academies allow a maximum of $500,000 per award for equipment, personal protective equipment, or vehicles, with a 15 percent match from the state.  “This is a significant development,” she said, “because it allows us to make our training all the more effective, along with enhancing the safety of the students attending the program.”

Tania Hedlund, FEMA’s Branch Chief for Grants, reported that, in 2012, the AFG provided funding of $25,340,000 for FEMA’s Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

For further information, please contact William H. Douglass at FEMA: 212-680-3665 or 917-561-3223.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Original article:  

New York State Fire Training Facility Granted New, Fully Equipped Truck

FEMA Obligates $3.2 Million to St. John Parish Schools for Classrooms and Cleanup

BATON ROUGE, La. – Two grants totaling $3.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help St. John Parish schools recover from Hurricane Isaac, FEMA has announced.

After the late August storm’s flooding severely damaged most of the buildings at the East St. John High School campus in Reserve, the district relocated most students to temporary classrooms at the nearby Leon Godchaux Academy campus.

But without enough classroom space at the academy, students are attending school daily in two, five-hour shifts this semester. On that limited schedule, the 2012-2013 academic year would extend through next summer and into September in order for students to get the required annual instructional time.

FEMA’s $1.4 million grant will provide additional modular classroom units for high school students. More class time is expected to be scheduled each day beginning in January. The school year then may end in July.

“Getting closer to the regular academic calendar is an important part of recovery for the St. John district and community,” said FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer Gerard M. Stolar. “These funds will help the district recover costs for adding the temporary classroom space that will help students stay on schedule.”

FEMA’s second grant for $1.8 million will help pay cleanup costs at the damaged high school campus and at Lake Pontchartrain Elementary School in LaPlace. Both schools sustained extensive flooding during the storm.

The FEMA grants will pay the federal share of the St. John school district’s eligible costs for the work. Under a cost-sharing formula, FEMA reimburses the state for 75 percent of the total costs, while the state and/or applicant cover the remaining 25 percent.

Once FEMA pays the funds to the state of Louisiana, their management, including disbursement to local school districts and organizations performing services, is the responsibility of the state. The obligated funds are a portion of nearly $121.8 million in total Public Assistance recovery funds obligated to the state since the Aug. 29 declaration for Hurricane Isaac.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.  Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/femaregion6, the R6 Hurricane Preparedness website at www.fema.gov/about/regions/regionvi/updates.shtm and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

See original:  

FEMA Obligates $3.2 Million to St. John Parish Schools for Classrooms and Cleanup