FEMA Procurement Provisions
Last Modified: 4/28/2020 3:37 PM
- New Contracts. New contracts involving work or purchases related to COVID-19 should be drafted using the Contract Templates for Federal Assistance. Replace the Exhibit B attached to the Federal Assistance template with the Federal Contract Provisions, FEMA provisions, Revised 4-27-20 of Exhibit B. The contract templates are posted on the Intranet under and on the Hive under Frequently Used Forms and under Please continue to follow other federal procurement requirements when drafting new contracts, as applicable.
- Contracts Already in Place. If your department used a contract that did not contain Federal Provisions with Additional FEMA Provisions for any COVID-19 related purchases, then those contracts need to be amended to include the FEMA provisions. It must be mentioned in the amendment that the FEMA provisions apply retroactively to the purchase/service, as well as from this point forward. Please specify the purchase or service in the amendment. The FEMA Contract Provisions Document is posted on the Intranet and Hive. If the vendor refuses to sign an amendment, at the very least, please email the provisions to the contractor, state that the provisions need to apply to the prior COVID-19 related purchase/service, ask for email confirmation of that requirement from the vendor, and put the email exchange on file with the contract. FEMA requires this documentation.
- Purchase Orders. For already printed Purchase Orders, please email
Exhibit B – Federal Contract Provisions, FEMA Provisions, Revised 4-27-2020
to the vendor. Let them know that these provisions apply retroactively to the COVID-19 purchase that was made with the original
purchase order, and specify the PO number. Please ask the vendor to respond indicating acceptance of the provisions and then
file that with the PO.
For any new POs, add the link https://www.townofchapelhill.org/femaprovisions in the PO line item description and add a note saying that these linked provisions apply to the COVID-19 related purchase.
- P-card Purchases. For any P-card purchase related to COVID-19 that already happened, please share
Federal Contract Provisions for P-card Purchases or share the link,
https://www.townofchapelhill.org/femaprovisions
with the vendor and let them know that this applies retroactively to the COVID-19 Purchase that was made with the P-card,
and specify the items purchased. Please ask the vendor to respond indicating acceptance of the provisions and then file that
with the P-card receipts.
For any new purchase, please share the provision with the vendor and ask for their acceptance.
- Debarred and Suspended Vendors (SAM Exclusion List). For any procurement to be paid for in whole or in part by Federal funds, including possible FEMA reimbursement, the vendor’s status must be checked on https://sam.gov/SAM/. If the vendor is listed as a debarred or suspended vendor in the system, the payment will be denied. If the vendor is not barred to do business or the page says, “no records found”, please save the screenshot and file it in case of a future FEMA audit.
- Cost Reasonableness. FEMA has issued guidance on steps that can be taken to satisfy the cost reasonableness
requirement. Best practice for avoiding future adverse audit findings is to create a detailed record documenting the steps
taken (such as market research, online cost comparisons, catalogue pricing comparisons, etc.) to determine whether a particular
price offered by a vendor was in fact reasonable.
If the service or goods are available from only one vendor, document the lack of competition and inability to conduct price comparison. Also, Town’s local policy must be followed.
Please remember to continue to document your expenses for FEMA reimbursement and to follow FEMA’s guidance on making best efforts to ensure that your costs are reasonable.
If the FEMA guidelines are followed properly but not documented, FEMA will deny payment.
