{"database": "mytown-research", "table": "audit_findings", "rows": [[6, "wa-sao", "1019842", "2016-002", null, "WA", "Ferry County", "County", "0113", "53019", "no_match", "Washington State Auditor's Office", "Financial and Federal audit \u2014 Ferry County", "Financial and Federal", 2016, "2016-01-01", "2016-12-31", "2019-02-19", "federal_award_compliance", "material_weakness", 0.0, "Questioned Cost Amount: $0", "The County did not have adequate internal controls to comply with Davis-Bacon Act (wage rate) requirements. CFDA Number and Title: 20.205, Highway Planning and Construction Federal Grantor Name: Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation Federal Award/Contract Number: NA Pass-through Entity Name: Washington State Department of Transportation Pass-through Award/Contract Number: LA", "Background \nThe County spent $1,970,353 federal Highway Planning and Construction funds in \n2016. $1,372,075 was spent on the Boulder Creek project for construction of about \nthree miles of roadway. The County spent $529,662 on the Curlew Storm project \nfor construction of a thin lift overlay. \nThe Davis -Bacon Act (Act) requires all laborers and mechanics employed by \ncontractors or subcontractors for work on construction projects financed with more \nthan $2,000 of federal funds to be paid wages no less than those established for the \nlocality of the project (prevailing wage rates) by the Department of Labor. The Act \nincludes a requirement for the contractor and subcontractor to submit to the County \nweekly, for each week in which any contract work was performed, a copy of its \npayroll and a signed \u201cStatement of Compliance\u201d (weekly certified payroll reports). \nThe prime contractor may collect the weekly certified payroll reports for the County \nduring the project, but the County remains responsible for compliance and \nmaintaining the documents according to records retention requirements. \n \nWashington State Auditor\u2019s Office Page 10 \n \nDescription of Condition \nThe County did not have adequate controls in place to ensure it collects all weekly \ncertified payroll reports from its prime contractor and subcontractors performing \nwork on its federally funded projects. \nWe consider this deficiency to be a material weakness. This issue was not reported \nas a finding in the prior audit. \nCause of Condition \nThe County documented subcontractors that worked on the projects and used that \ninformation to request weekly certified payroll reports for those periods from the \nprime contractor. However, the prime contractor did not collect all weekly certified \npayrolls from subcontractors, and the County did not have a process to follow up \nwhen its prime contractor did not respond to the initial request, or separately collect \nthem. \nEffect of Condition and Questioned Costs \nThe County did not collect 11 of the 89 required weekly certified payroll reports \nfor work performed on the Boulder Creek West and Curlew Storm projects. Also, \nthe County did not ensure that 16 weekly certified pay roll reports were received \nwithin seven days for the Boulder Creek West project. \nWithout adequate internal controls, the County cannot demonstrate workers were \npaid prevailing wages as the Act requires. The County could be liable for paying \nadditional wages if prevailing wages were not paid. \nRecommendation \nWe recommend the County strengthen internal controls over compliance with the \nAct\u2019s requirements, including implementing effective controls to ensure it collects \nall weekly certified payroll reports when due. \nCounty\u2019s Response \nThe prime contractor on the Boulder Cr project was a subcontractor on the Curlew \nStorm/Overlay project. This contractor has a history of not complying when it \ncomes time to hand in required paperwork. The County has a documented history \nof attempting to collect missing or late paperwork from this contractor. \nThe County did not know at that time that it could seek required paperwork directly \nfrom subcontractors as leverage for such required documents. In light of this new \n \nWashington State Auditor\u2019s Office Page 11 \nunderstanding of what the County ca n do to collect missing paperwork they have \ndeveloped a Corrective Action Plan that will help in resolving this issue. \nThe County will use a checklist to ensure the timely receipt of all required \ndocuments and will withhold payment when necessary to enforce this compliance. \nThe County will notify the prime contractor that compliance of handing in required \npaperwork will be a part of the contractors performance review and that the County \nwill seek further actions if issues persist; including the request of n ot allowing the \nprime contractor awards of future projects. \nAuditor\u2019s Remarks \nWe appreciate the County\u2019s commitment to resolving the issues noted. \nApplicable Laws and Regulations \nThe American Institute of Certified Public Accountants defines significant \ndeficiencies and material weaknesses in its Codification of Statements on Auditing \nStandards, section 935, paragraph 11. \nTitle 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative \nRequirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards \n(Uniform Guidance), section 303 Internal controls, establishes internal control \nrequirements for management of Federal awards to non-Federal entities. \nTitle 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative \nRequirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards \n(Uniform Guidance), section 516 Audit findings, establishes reporting \nrequirements for audit findings. \nTitle 29, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 3.3 \u2013 Weekly statement \nwith res pect to payment of wages, and Section 3.4 \u2013 Submission of weekly \nstatements and the preservation an inspection of weekly payroll records, establishes \nrequirements for submission of weekly certified payroll reports. \n \n \n \n \nWashington State Auditor\u2019s Office Page 12", "https://portal.sao.wa.gov/ReportSearch/Home/ViewReportFile?arn=1019842&isFinding=false&sp=false", "2026-07-30 13:24:54"]], "columns": ["rowid", "source", "report_number", "finding_number", "muni_id", "state", "entity_name", "entity_type", "entity_ext_id", "place_geoid", "match_method", "auditor", "report_title", "audit_type", "fiscal_year", "period_start", "period_end", "published_date", "finding_category", "severity", "questioned_cost", "cost_basis", "finding_title", "finding_text", "report_url", "fetched_at"], "primary_keys": ["rowid"], "primary_key_values": ["6"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 15.605066990246996, "source": "MyTown", "source_url": "https://mytown.theboringparts.com", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"}