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The Town Crier - Legislative Backgrounder

The Town Crier - Legislative Backgrounder

Dec 02

[ARCHIVED] NLC Seeks Clarity from Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General

The original item was published from December 2, 2020 1:07 PM to December 2, 2020 1:53 PM

NLC Seeks Clarity from Department of the Treasury Office of Inspector General Coronavirus Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Misspent Coronavirus Relief Funds


Last week, the Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a Coronavirus Relief Fund “Frequently Asked Questions Related to Reporting and Recordkeeping.” Part of the document lays out the process for the recoupment of misspent funds, though it is unclear whether it applies to some or all municipalities. As a reminder, Treasury’s OIG is responsible for monitoring and oversight of the receipt, disbursement, and use of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) payments.


 Treasury’s OIG laid out two fact patterns of how it will deal with funds that were used in violation of the CARES Act.


The first, if it occurred before December 30, 2020:

The prime recipient would need to either recover such funds and redeploy them for COVID-19 related expenditures or demonstrate that other eligible expenses incurred during the covered period of March 1 through December 30, 2020 would qualify as allowable. The prime recipient can dispute the determination of the OIG. Once OIG makes a final determination, it will request a written response from the prime recipient to include the corrective action(s) to remedy the noncompliance. 


The second, if it occurred after December 30, 2020:

The OIG may (1) seek recoupment of funds, or (2) allow the prime recipient to demonstrate that other eligible expenses incurred during the covered period of March 1 through December 30, 2020, would qualify as allowable. 

Contact: Paul Penna, Legislative Analyst, ppenna@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 ext. 110