CDA details budgeting, monthly reporting and reimbursement rules for CDBG awards

Brian Yacom, fiscal manager at the Community Development Administration, led the training segment on financial management and payment procedures for awarded CDBG contracts.

Yacom said awardees must maintain accounting systems that segregate CDBG activity and support monthly financial reports tied to the contract budget. He explained two reimbursement methods: direct reimbursement (applicants submit actual invoices) and fixed-price, per-unit reimbursement (CDA pays based on agreed unit rates and documented outputs). "Your expenditures have to be at least as much as what we reimbursed you for," Yacom said, explaining that monthly financial reporting and supporting documentation underpin each payment.

CDA requires a written budget tied to contract outputs; monthly financial reports must reconcile expenditures with that budget. Yacom urged grantees to encumber funds in their internal budgets (for example, for contracts or payroll) so they do not overspend later, and noted that CDA will not process reimbursements until required financial reports are submitted.

On procurement and contracting, CDA staff said purchases or professional-service contracts expected to total $10,000 or more to a single vendor require CDA approval and a documented procurement process (bids, advertisements where applicable). The training highlighted payroll documentation, timesheets, proof of tax withholdings, invoices and procurement records as key audit items. CDA also reminded organizations that federal single-audit requirements apply to entities receiving $1,000,000 or more in federal funds in a year and that audited financial statements or single-audit reports must be uploaded when applicable.

Yacom encouraged applicants to coordinate with their assigned program monitor for fiscal questions; he noted CDA will assign successful applicants to an accountant (Sharon Worth or another fiscal staffer) responsible for payments and monitoring.