Grants Administration in the
City of St. Petersburg
“It’s a shared responsibility”
Wayne Finley
Contracts & Grants Officer
wayne.finley@stpete.org
893-7087
Lorrie Reed
Grants Compliance Officer
lorrie.reed@stpete.org
893-7110
Today’s discussion
• The Grants Administration Enterprise in
St. Petersburg
• The City Contracts & Grants Webpage
• Proposal Preparation & Submittal
• Account Setup & Managing Awards
• Personnel Effort Certification
• The Single Audit and Cost Accounting Issues
Department
Staff
Project & Award
Managers
Budget & Mgmt Office
Grants Committee
Project
Human Resources
The CSP Grants
Enterprise
Purchasing
Audit & Compliance
General Counsel
Financial
Management
Accounts Payable
Preparing & Submitting
Proposals
“Successful project & award
management starts during proposal
development”
The Contracts & Grants Webpage
• City Grant Forms
• Grants Administration
Manual
• Contract & Grant
Newsletter Library
97-98
• Grant Scorecard
• Useful Management Links
• Grant Writing Tips and
Guidance
http://www.stpete.org/budget/contractsgrants.asp
The Grants Cycle
Project Idea or Need
Grantor Submission
Funding Search
Routing & Approval
Present Proposal Opportunity
to Grant Committee
Proposal Creation
Setting up Award
Agency Review
Award Negotiation
And Contracting
Close Out & Audit
Technical & Financial Mgmt
(Post Award)
6
Read the Grant Guidelines
• Spell out the project requirements and
deliverables
• Identify administrative requirements
• Provide budget details including cost
share requirements
Planning the Budget
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Salaries, fringe benefits, & insurance
Equipment - detail
Travel - detail
Materials & Supplies - detail
Include shipping costs where applicable
Subcontracts
Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs
(aka Overhead or Indirect costs)
Budgetary Concerns
• Budget Accordingly
• Cost Accounting Exceptions
• Cost Sharing/Matching/In-Kind
• Justify all costs
Direct vs. F&A Costs
•
Direct Costs
“…those costs that can be
identified specifically with
a particular grant project…”
– Salaries
• Project Manager,
Professional and
Technical Personnel
– Supplies
• Project related supplies,
project specific software
– Equipment
• Technical, project specific
– Telephone Charges
• Toll Charges
•
F&A Costs
“…incurred for common or
joint objectives and
cannot be identified
specifically with a particular
sponsored project..”
– Salaries
• Administrative Personnel
– Supplies
• General purpose supplies
(paper, photocopies,
printer cartridges)
• Subscriptions
• Individual Memberships
– Equipment
• General purpose
equipment (computer,
calculator, furniture, file
cabinets, refrigerators,
fax machines, printers)
– Telephone Charges
• Basic Monthly Service
• Installation
• Maintenance
Cost Sharing (aka Matching/In-Kind)
• The portion of allowable costs contributed to a project that are
not paid for by the grantor
• With few exceptions, cost sharing should only be provided as
a requirement for participation
• Cost sharing can be met with cash, in-kind services and/or
third party contributions if:
– Allowable under the grantor agreement
– Costs have not been reported as cost sharing on another
project
– Documented in your records
– Necessary and reasonable for conducting the project
– Provided for in award budget, and
– Complies with other grantor provisions
• Unrecovered F&A costs may be included as part of cost
sharing or matching with prior approval of the granting
agency
Proposal Routing &
Approval
• Unless department managers have
delegated authority, the First Deputy Mayor
will sign all outgoing proposals as the city’s
Authorized Organizational Representative
(AOR).
• Proposals should be routed for signature at
least 3 days prior to submittal to ensure
adequate review and approval, in the event of
any necessary revisions.
QUESTIONS?
Preparing & Submitting Proposals
Congratulations!
You’re Getting an Award!
The Award Cycle
Council Resolution
Award Received
CGO processes
award
Project/Award baselined
Close Out & Audit
Prepare GRC
GCO processes
award
Perform Work, submit deliverables
15
Types of Awards/Agreements
• Grants
– typically have general deliverables and provide more flexibility
in the course of the project
• Contracts
– have tasks and deliverables
– usually come with technical and financial management
reporting requirements
• Cost Reimbursable Awards
– funded based on expenditures
– remaining funds at end of project period revert back to
grantor
• Fixed Price Awards
– based on set deliverables or tasks
– residual funds at project end revert to the fund balance
The Grant Release Checklist
• Oracle No.
String
• Why is it so
detailed?
• Who
prepares it?
– CGO/PM/AM
Terms of
Award
Subrecipient
Monitoring
How Am I Supposed To Know My
Budget Needs?
• We must be proactive rather than reactive – know
what you have before you spend it - Look at the
detailed Award Budget
• Each project is unique and individual
• “Parking charges” is strictly forbidden
• Make sure you are charging your cost share account
• The default for unallowable charges is your
department’s operating budget or other non-grant
funded source
Roles and Responsibilities
Project Manager
•
The Project Manager is the primary person responsible for
programmatic activities on a CSP project. Chief accountable
person for the overall administrative and fiscal conduct of the
grant award for meeting the terms and conditions of the
award and for representing the project to the granting
agency.
– Oversees project work performance; ensures deliverables
submitted in timely manner.
– Understands the budget – what is allowable, when can funds be
spent, how much is available.
– Monitors grant activity for compliance with award requirements
and city policies.
– Notifies DEPT/CGO/GCO of any award issues needing attention.
– Requests time extension 90, 60, 45 days out.
Roles and Responsibilities
Award Manager
• The Award Manager is the individual who is responsible
for fiscally managing the award and is the primary person
who maintains the award record in the city's financial
system.
– Monitors grant activity for compliance w/award requirements,
federal spending guidelines, and city policies and notifies the CGO
and GCO if changes are needed.
– Monitors the project budget and ensure the appropriate charging
of expenditures to the project.
– Assists with the resolution of over-expenditures.
– Evaluates and enacts expenditure transfer requests as needed.
– Ensures that the CGO and GCO receive a copy of the letter of
transmittal of any reports or correspondence with the granting
agency.
Roles and Responsibilities
Administrative Staff
• Administrative staff members are those persons who
are typically responsible for certain delegated duties
to provide assistance to Project and Award
Managers. Administrative staff members are a
critical element in the successful management of
grant awards.
– Assist in monitoring grant activity for compliance w/award
requirements, federal spending guidelines, and city
policies.
– Assists in monitoring the project budget and ensuring the
appropriate charging of expenditures to the project.
– Brings problems to the attention of the Award or Project
Manager.
Roles and Responsibilities
Contracts and Grants Officer
• The contracts and grants officer is the primary person
responsible for providing city-wide coordination and
monitoring of contracts and grants.
– Assist staff with proposal preparation as it concerns adhering to
grant guidelines, policies, and deadlines.
– Provide assistance in preparing an itemized budget and
justification.
– Provide guidance in the pursuit of grant award changes as
needed, and assisting in securing prior approval from the grantor
for modifications to the award budget and requests for no-cost
time extensions.
– Receives a copy of the grant award and maintains grant file.
– Assists in communicating/resolving issues with the grantor.
Roles and Responsibilities
Grants Compliance Officer
• The grants compliance officer is the primary person in
charge of and accountable for CSP fiscal activities on
externally awarded grants. This individual is responsible
for supervising and participating in highly technical and
complex accounting and financial management operations
for externally funded awards and monitoring compliance
with grantor requirements.
– Ensure proper financial management of projects and grant
awards in compliance with grant program regulations.
– Participates with CSP personnel engaged in specialized fiscal and
grant regulation compliance operations.
– Coordinates/assists preparation of required financial reporting.
– Performs pre-audit functions for encumbrances and expenditures
related to various grant programs.
– Receives a copy of the grant award and maintains grant files.
QUESTIONS?
New Awards
Account Setup
Award Management
Award Closeout
& Ongoing Concerns
So Your Project is Over…Really?
• Requests for Award No-Cost Time Extension?
• All deliverables have been submitted and approved by
grantor
• All outstanding charges have been paid
• Reporting complete: Financial, Final technical/progress
reports
• Personnel have been moved off the PATEO
Ongoing Concerns
• Cost Accounting Issues
– Budget reallocation
– Charge parking
– CAS exceptions charged to award
• Supplemental requests & awards
• Annual reporting: Progress reports,
disclosure statements
• Deliverables
• Personnel Effort Reporting/cost share
documentation
Personnel Effort Certification
• WHAT must be certified?
– effort performed on federal awards
– labor cost sharing
• WHO must certify?
Employee must certify own effort
• OR Supervisor
• OR Dept Director
Personnel Effort Reporting
• HOW is effort certified?
– Estimated labor must be reconciled against
actual payroll via timesheets
• WHEN must labor be certified?
– Should be certified/reconciled at least
quarterly
• WHAT if effort not certified?
– Salary charges on federal awards may be
disallowed and have to be transferred off of
federal award and onto a department
operating account; will result in an A-133
Single audit finding.
Effort Reporting Issues
• Timesheet must identify the project and award
when work is grant related coordinate with
other CSP units.
• Timesheets must be signed by employee and
supervisor.
• Payroll punch detail sheet must be initialed by
supervisor.
• Improperly accounted cost-sharing.
• Grossly untimely certification of federal effort.
QUESTIONS?
Award Closeout
Ongoing Concerns
Effort Certification
A-133 Single Audit Issues
From the Files of CSP…
Cost Accounting Issues
• Administrative and clerical costs are directly
charged to grants without adequate justification
or grantor approval.
• Postage, memberships, and general purpose
equipment are charged to a project using federal
award funds adequate relationship to project.
Is this a problem? Why?
Answer:
Administrative and clerical costs, postage,
memberships, general purpose equipment, etc. are
costs normally considered F&A costs.
These costs can only be charged against federal and
fed pass-through grants if specifically requested in
the budget, justified, and approved by the
grantor. Otherwise, they should not be charged to
federal awards, and such costs would be disallowed
by an auditor.
The federal government would expect these costs to
be returned.
Charging Effort
An employee from one department charges time to a
grant funded project managed by another department
without identifying the project or work performed.
Is this an appropriate accounting of effort?
Answer:
Grant expenditures must be supported by adequate
documentation. Effort must be based on the work
performed, and overstated effort requires payroll
adjustments. Payroll records should be assessed to
assure consistency in effort reported. Effort by
one CSP unit on another dept’s project
should be coordinated to ensure accurate
accounting.
Effort Certification
• 30% of an employee’s salary was
charged to a federally funded project.
• The employee fails to sign his weekly
timesheet and punch detail is not
confirmed by his supervisor.
Is this a problem? Consequences?
Answer:
Federal effort MUST be certified by the
employee OR someone with first hand
knowledge of the employee’s effort OR the
effort certification is considered invalid, and
the salaries and wages would be disallowed.
The federal government would expect the
entire amount of salaries and wages to be
returned.
Subcontracting
• A subcontractor is hired to fulfill work on a grant
funded project. It is discovered after the
contract has been awarded that the
subcontractor had been placed on the state
convicted vendor list 2 years ago.
Would an audit find this allowable?
Answer:
Pursuant to Florida Statutes, a public entity may not
accept any bid, proposal, or award any contract to
any business on the convicted vendor list for a
period of 36 months following the date that person
or affiliate was placed on the list. Costs incurred by
such a vendor would be considered disallowable.
All subcontractors and vendors should be
checked on both the federal and state disbarred
or suspended/convicted vendor lists PRIOR to
selection.
Charging Common Costs
An employee uses city-owned equipment
to conduct grant related activities for
multiple projects. The equipment costs are
charged to one grant.
Is this allowable? How might these
charges be handled differently?
Answer:
Charges to any grantor project must specifically
support the work performed under that unique
award. Putting all charges on one account when
the expenditures benefit multiple projects is
disallowable. Such charges should be prorated
across all benefiting accounts.
Where Do I Go For Help?
• Proposal Initiation & Preparation, Award Setup,
General Compliance
– Wayne Finley, Contracts & Grants Officer
• 873-7087, wayne.finley@stpete.org
• Post Award Financial Management, Audit Issues,
General Compliance
– Lorrie Reed, Grants Compliance Officer
• 873-7110, lorrie.reed@stpete.org
WRAP UP
Is this all clear?
Will we always do the
right thing?
Will we make mistakes?
But we’re here to help!
Grants Administration in the
City of St. Petersburg
“It’s a shared responsibility”
Wayne Finley
Contracts & Grants Officer
wayne.finley@stpete.org
893-7087
Lorrie Reed
Grants Compliance Officer
lorrie.reed@stpete.org
893-7110