OIG-CA-26-004: Final Determination on Corrective Actions — Bergen County, New Jersey (December 4, 2025)

Summary

Letter of December 4, 2025 (OIG-CA-26-004) from the Treasury Office of Inspector General to Bergen County Treasurer Melissa Howard, giving its final determination on corrective actions after the desk review of Bergen County, New Jersey’s use of Coronavirus Relief Fund proceeds (OIG-CA-24-028). In that review an independent public accounting firm identified $57,000 in unsupported questioned costs in the “aggregate reporting less than $50,000” category, because the county did not document how its lump sum payments for extra duty pay to employees on COVID-19 related tasks were determined. After the OIG asked for supporting documentation in April 2025, Bergen County returned $57,000 to the Department of the Treasury in May 2025, which the OIG found addressed the questioned costs. Pauletta Battle, Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audit, signs the letter.

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




     OFFICE OF
INSPECTOR GENERAL
                                                 December 4, 2025


           OIG-CA-26-004

           Ms. Melissa Howard
           Bergen County Treasurer
           One Bergen County Plaza
           Hackensack, NJ 07601

           Re: Final Determination on Corrective Actions for Desk Review of Bergen County,
           New Jersey’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund Proceeds (OIG-CA-24-028)

           Dear Ms. Howard:

           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 government
           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 Bergen County’s documentation
           supporting its uses of CRF proceeds as reported in the GrantSolutions 2 portal. In
           the desk review memorandum, 3 the IPA identified total unsupported questioned
           costs of $57,000 within the “aggregate reporting less than $50,000” payment
           category. Bergen County used the CRF proceeds to distribute lump sum payments
           to cover extra duty pay to county employees working on COVID-19 related tasks.
           The IPA noted that Bergen County did not maintain or appropriately document how
           the lump sum payments were determined for each employee.
           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 Bergen County, New Jersey’s Use of Coronavirus Relief Fund
               Proceeds, OIG-CA-24-028 (September 20, 2024)
Page 2


In April 2025, we contacted Bergen County requesting the county to provide
supporting documentation for the questioned costs. In May 2025, Bergen County
returned $57,000 to the Department of the Treasury. As such, Bergen County’s
corrective action 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


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