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OIG-CA-26-002: Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of City of Fresno (December 2, 2025)

Summary

Treasury Office of Inspector General letter OIG-CA-26-002 of December 2, 2025 to Courtney Espinoza, Business Manager of the City of Fresno, California, giving its final determination on corrective actions after a desk review of Fresno’s use of Coronavirus Relief Fund proceeds (OIG-CA-25-013). The independent public accounting firm that did the review questioned $272,083: $269,142 that Fresno could not support in contracts of $50,000 or more, for small business grant relief, childcare center vouchers and payroll for food purchase and delivery work, and $2,941 in payroll costs. In May 2025 Fresno provided documentation of eligible replacement expenses for the $272,083, related to cleaning and disinfecting supplies. The OIG states that Fresno’s corrective actions addressed the questioned costs. The letter is signed by Pauletta Battle, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit.

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Issuer
Inspector general and oversight reports
Document type
Oig Ca 26 002 Final Determination On Corrective Actions For Desk Review Of City Of Fresno

Cite this document

“OIG-CA-26-002: Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of City of Fresno (December 2, 2025).” Original at oig.treasury.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/oig-ca-26-002-final-determination-on-corrective-actions-for-desk-review-of-city-of-fresno-california-s-u/, SHA-256 e2e0d54aa33d1fa6ada353fb8529e9eb4dcc488815151237f0d42b57ff663b1c.

Full text

                                         DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
                                                W ASHINGTON, D.C. 20220




     OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
                                                 December 2, 2025

           OIG-CA-26-002

           Ms. Courtney Espinoza
           Business Manager
           City of Fresno, California
           2600 Fresno St.
           Fresno, CA 93721-3620

           Re: Final Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of City of Fresno,
           California’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds (OIG-CA-25-013)

           Dear Ms. Espinoza:

           The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), 1 established
           the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and appropriated $150 billion for making
           payments to states, District of Columbia, local, territorial, and tribal governments
           entities. CRF recipients may use the CRF award funds to cover costs that:

                1. were necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency
                   with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19);
                2. were not accounted for in the government’s budget most recently approved
                   as of March 27, 2020; and
                3. were incurred during the period that began on March 1, 2020, and ended on
                   December 31, 2021, for states, local governments, and territories. In the
                   case of tribal governments, were incurred during the period that began on
                   March 1, 2020, and ended on December 31, 2022 (covered period).

           Under a contract monitored by our office, a certified independent public accounting
           firm (IPA) performed a desk review to evaluate the City of Fresno’s (Fresno)
           documentation supporting its use of CRF proceeds as reported in the
           GrantSolutions 2 portal. In the desk review memorandum, 3 the IPA identified total
           questioned costs of $272,083. In the “contracts greater than or equal to $50,000”
           category, the IPA determined that Fresno was unable to provide sufficient
           supporting documentation for $269,142 in expenditures related to the distribution
           of grant assistance relief for small businesses due to service reduction and
           closures; vouchers issued to childcare centers for necessary COVID-19 related
           supplies; and payroll costs of employees that worked to assist with food purchases
           1
               P.L. 116-136 (March 27, 2020)
           2
               GrantSolutions, a grant and program management Federal shared service provider under the
               United States Department of Health and Human Services, developed a customized and user-
               friendly reporting solution to capture the use of CRF payments from prime recipients.
           3
               Treasury OIG, Desk Review of City of Fresno, California’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund
               Proceeds, OIG-CA-25-013, (December 12, 2024)
Page 2

and delivery to vulnerable populations who could not shop or obtain food because
of the risks surrounding COVID-19. Also, in the “aggregate payments to
individuals” category, Fresno was unable to provide adequate support for $2,941 in
expenditures related to non-substantially dedicated payroll costs 4 for the city’s
planning and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In April 2025, we contacted Fresno requesting the city to provide supporting
documentation for the questioned costs. In May 2025, Fresno provided eligible
replacement expenses documentation for the $272,083 questioned costs. The
replacement expenses were related to cleaning and disinfecting supplies for
COVID-19. As such, Fresno’s corrective actions addressed the questioned costs
identified in the desk review.

We appreciate the courtesies and cooperation provided to our staff during the desk
review follow-up. If you have any questions or require further information, please
contact me at (202) 927-5792, or a member of your staff may contact Olivia
Scott, Acting Audit Director, at (202) 927-9635.


Sincerely,

/s/

Pauletta Battle
Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit



cc:     Michelle A. Dickerman, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Department of
           the Treasury
        Danielle Christensen, Deputy Chief Program Officer for State and Local
            Programs, Office of Capital Access, Department of the Treasury
        Jeffery W. Stout, Acting Chief Program Officer, Office of Capital Access,
           Department of the Treasury
        Thao P. Tran, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Department of the Treasury




4
    Payroll costs that are not substantially dedicated means that the costs are not related to public
    health and safety; and not substantially dedicated to performing COVID-19 related tasks.

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