Plymouth Airport Grant Oversight Policies and Procedures
Procurement
The Town of Plymouth/Plymouth Municipal Airport (PYM), FAA AIP grant procurement, complies with Local, State and Federal procurement requirements and involves:
Procurement process roles and responsibilities:
Airport Consultant (AC) creates all bid documents, advertises all bids via, local newspaper, Mass Central Register and Dodge Report. The AC manages the bid process as to addendums and technical questions that may arise during bid period. PYM retains all bids until the bid opening. PYM and the AC conduct the bid openings at the advertised time. The AC conducts the bid analysis, verifies contractor qualifications and makes a recommendation to PYM as to the lowest responsible bidder. The AC draws up the Notice of Award (NOA) and contract. Based on the recommendation of the AC, the airport’s attorney reviews and approves the documents and the PYM through the Plymouth Airport Commission (PAC) votes to sign the contract. A notice to proceed is then signed by the PAC Chairman.
Procurement process authorization to approve transactions:
The Airport Manager and Airport Office Manager are authorized to approve procurement transactions.
Procurement process data retention requirements:
All bids and related documents are retained for a minimum of 3 years and retained at the Plymouth Airport.
Procurement process purchase card usage and authorizations: Not Applicable
Procurement process for goods and services receipt and acknowledgement: Not Applicable
Procurement process for invoice reconciliations and exception handling:
Upon delivery of an invoice from a contractor, the AC reviews the invoice and all applicable supporting documents as to quantities, unit pricing and that the invoice is for work actually completed.
After review, the AC then recommends to the PAC that the invoice is complete and accurate through the Payment Vouch (PV) process. The PAC votes to authorize the PAC Chairman to sign the PV and the PV along with the supporting documents are submitted to the MassDot Aeronautics for payment processing.
The Airport Office Manager provides the Town of Plymouth Accounting Department with a project specific budget and requests project accounts be set up for Accounts Payable and Receivable. Copies of the contract and grant agreement are provided to Accounting upon receipt.
The Town’s Accounting Department is the custodian of the procurement files. The Airport Office Manager also keeps files in the Administration Office for 3 years.
Grants Oversight
Specific steps for gathering documents, necessary internal approvals, validating the accuracy of the documentation and process for grant submission to the grantor:
The AC creates the scope of the project, cost estimates and projected timeline for completion of the project. This information is provided to PYM in the Engineering Contract (EC). For EC’s over $100,000 PYM hires a Consultant to perform an Independent Fee Estimate (IFE) to determine reasonable and necessary costs. Differences between the EC and IFE are analyzed by the Airport Manager and may result in a negotiation with the Engineer. Upon completion of the IFE the airport’s attorney reviews and approves the documents. For EC’s under $100,000 the Airport Manager conducts the analysis and negotiation directly with the Engineer. The PAC votes to approve and sign the documents. The EC’s are submitted to the MassDot Aeronautics for Administrator approval.
The AC prepares and submits the Federal and State Grant Application and supporting documentation.
The following documents are coordinated by the Airport Manager and Office Manager:
Federal Grant Offers require a vote of approval from the PAC and approval from the airports attorney prior to the deadline.
State Grant Offers require that Grant Assurances be approved by both the Town of Plymouth Board of Selectmen, certified by the Town Clerk and the PAC.
The State Grant Offer also requires approval of the MassDot Standard Contract Form by the PAC and then the MassDOT Administrator.
Roles and responsibilities for managing grant funds:
The AC updates the Airport Manager on a regular basis and provides progress reports and completion schedules to the Commission at the monthly Airport Commission Meetings. The AC also communicates as necessary to the MassDot and/or FAA all pertinent information regarding the current projects.
The Airport Office Manager prepares a spreadsheet for each project to track Federal and State Reimbursements, the Engineering and Construction Contracts and Administration costs to ensure that all Grant Monies are received and all invoices for the individual contracts get paid.
Grant closeout:
The AC prepares the Grant Closeout documents in accordance with Federal and State requirements.
Grant records management:
All records and documents received relative to a specific project are kept in a file cabinet until completion and then they are boxed for archiving.
Disbursement Process
The Airport Office Manager enters Purchase Orders (PO) for each approved bid or contract on the Town’s Munis software. The Airport Manager releases PO’s on Munis for approval. The Town of Plymouth Procurement Officer verifies available funds and approves PO’s.
Disbursements from the agency are received at the Plymouth Town Hall, in the Treasurer’s office, in the form of an Advice of Credit which is sent to the Airport Office Manager. The Airport Office Manager verifies the amount and designates the appropriate receipt and payments accounts for the funds. The Airport Office Manager submits a Turnover Form to the Town of Plymouth Accounting Department for the amount received from the federal or state agency.
Upon receipt of a Disbursement the invoices associated with that disbursement are affixed a Departmental Stamp which is filled out and verified by the Airport Office Manager and approved by the Airport Manager. The invoice is then submitted to the Town of Plymouth Accounting Dept. for payment processing. Checks are mailed directly from the Plymouth Town Hall.
Monthly reconciliation through the Town’s Munis software for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable is accomplished by the Airport Office Manager.
Business Continuity
The Plymouth Information Technology (IT) Department manages and oversees a computer server for all Town Departments including the Airport. The Airport also keeps electronic files that are periodically backed up to an external drive.
In the event of a disaster, the IT department has sufficient data backup servers off site to recover files.
In the event of a resource turnover involving the Airport Manager or the Office Manager temporary responsibility to accomplish key business operations would revert to the remaining resource and in the event that both resources were lost the Town Accounting Department would temporarily oversee the business process until replacements were secured.
Sponsor Information Technology Infrastructure:
Sponsor keeps some documentation in printed form and some as electronic files.
Policies and Procedures Reviewed and Updated: March 14, 2018
