FAQs

The LCDBG Public Facilities Program has a two year funding cycle, which will be divided into two phases. 

Phase I – For FY 2022 and FY 2023 LCDBG Public Facilities Program

Project Severity packages will be accepted by the OCD on June 30, 2021.  OCD will score the project severity packages. These project severity packages will be reviewed for funding under the FY 2022 – FY 2023 program years.

Phase II – For FY 2022 LCDBG Public Facilities Program

OCD will make determinations regarding the past performance threshold criteria below as of July 30, 2021.  All applicants that meet the past performance threshold criteria as of July 30, 2021 and receive a project severity score that is in the top seventy percent of all applicants’ project severity scores that meet the past performance threshold criteria as of July 30, 2021 will be invited to submit a full application to the Public Facilities program.  Invitations to submit a full application will be issued around August 20, 2021.  OCD will conduct a virtual Application Workshop to discuss the application forms and instructions.  Full applications for the Public Facilities program will be due to OCD on December 20, 2021.  Project severity applicants that do not meet past performance threshold criteria as of July 30, 2021 will not be included in the calculation to determine the top seventy percent of the applicants.

Phase II – For FY 2023 LCDBG Public Facilities Program

OCD will make determinations regarding the past performance threshold criteria below as of July 29, 2022.  All applicants that meet the past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 and receive a project severity score that is in the top seventy percent of all applicants’ project severity scores that meet the past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 will be invited to submit a full application to the Public Facilities program.  Invitations to submit a full application will be issued around August 19, 2022.  OCD will conduct a virtual Application Workshop.  Full applications for the Public Facilities program will be due to OCD on December 19, 2022.  Project severity applicants that do not meet past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 will not be included in the calculation to determine the top seventy percent of the applicants. Full applications received in the FY 2022 program year that meet past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 and receive a project severity score that is in the top seventy percent of all applicants’ project severity scores that meet the past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 and were not funded under the FY 2022 program year will be considered under the FY 2023 program year.  Project severity applicants that do not meet past performance threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 will not be included in the calculation to determine the top seventy percent of the applicants.

Please note, for FY 2023 program year, the Office of Community Development will consider applications that meet the threshold criteria as of July 29, 2022 and are in the top seventy percent of the project severity scores of all applicants that meet that benchmark as well.  This may cause a change in the points awarded under the cost effective criteria; the points awarded under cost effectiveness are relative to the other applications that are being considered in the same activity area.  Since additional applicants may meet the threshold criteria for FY 2023, there may be changes in the points awarded under cost effectiveness and in the overall ranking of the projects.

No, only list those contracts (construction and/or non-construction) that were awarded since the last reporting period.  For example, if a contract was awarded and reported during a previous cycle, it should not be reported again.

An extensive list of examples can be found in the FY 2019 Grantee Handbook on pages 61-63.  Remember that all efforts must be documented.

No, Tables A and B are only required for sub-contractors whose contracts are greater than $100,000.00.  However all sub-contractors, regardless of contract amount, are required to complete a "Section 3 and Segregated Facilities Certification", found on page 209 of the 2019 Grantee Handbook.

This box should reflect the amount that has been or will be spent, not necessarily grant amount.  Boxes 1A and 2A on page 2 should also indicate the actual amount that will be spent.

The following items should be included in the Community Development Plan:

• Period of applicability - This covers the three-year period of the grant.  The period begins when the Grantee has been given authorization to incur costs.
• Needs of the community - Also note if there are any population groups experiencing high rates of unemployment.  If there are none, include a statement to that effect.
• Data sources.
• Strategy that addresses the community’s needs.  Include objectives, activities, timing, monetary amounts, and potential sources of funds (LCDBG as well as other sources).

Use the information gathered to write the CD Plan, being careful to adhere to the form’s outline as well as the official instructions contained in the Community Development Plan exhibit of section A in the Grantee Handbook. 

All LCDBG Change Orders must utilize the following procedure:

• The engineer & the contractor sign and date the C.O.
• Submit the C.O. to the LCDBG Engineer by email or mail.
• The LCDBG Engineer will approve the C.O. and email it back to the consulting engineer.
• Get the Mayor or Parish President to approve with date of signature.

Yes, all Change Orders must be submitted to OCD-LGA. 

Yes, it is still under the LCDBG contract so the Change Orders must be submitted to OCD-LGA.

Yes, all Addendums must be submitted to OCD-LGA.

Yes, all Addendums must be submitted to OCD-LGA.

No, hard copies of plans and specifications must be submitted.

Yes, as long as all text and details are sized up for half-sized plans and are legible.

Topographic Fees are included in the Basic Services fee in the Engineering Fee Schedules and Policies for LCDBG.

The Notice of Contract Award is strictly to notify the office of the amount of the construction contract with the contractor's name and information regarding the grant.  Only the amount of the construction contract should be included.  There should be no engineering fees or contingencies listed.

The Qualification Certification for Resident Project Representative form from the Grantee Handbook, along with a copy of the Resident Project Representative's current resume showing qualifications and work history, must be submitted to the OCD-LGA engineer.  In order to qualify a Resident Project Representative (RPR), the applicant must have experience as a construction inspector, construction manager or construction field administrator.  If approved, the OCD-LGA engineer will send the approved Certification back to the Consulting Engineering.  If approved the OCD engineer will add the RPR name, date approved and name of the Consulting Engineering firm to the QPR - Qualified Resident Project Representatives spreadsheet.  After a Resident Project Representative is qualified, there is no need to resubmit the certification or resume.

Most severity packages receive a low score due to lack of documentation. Severity Scores are generally based off the amount and variety of supporting documentation enclosed in the Severity Package. It's not enough to say there are Citizen Complaints. Copies of the complaints must be included in the Severity Package.  If there are Work Orders that support the severity claim, copies of the Work Orders should be included in the Severity Package. Other supporting documentation, if applicable should be included in the Severity Package; Administrative Orders, Compliance Orders, Purchase Orders, Newspaper Articles, Social Media Posts, Legal Actions, etc.

To ensure that the State has sufficient time to review the ERR for completeness and to allow adequate time to revisions, the ERR must be received by the  State within four calendar months of the date of the authorization to incur costs letter.  The Grantee must receive permission for the OCD to publish either the Notice of Intent to Request Release of Funds or the Combined Notice within five months of the authorization to incur costs letter.

A request for extension should be submitted to the OCD prior to the ERR submittal deadline.  A request for extension should be made when the deadline  will be missed due to unforeseen circumstances such as late response times from agencies.  The request should include the reason that the extension is  needed.  The request should also include dates, such as when the ERR process began, when letters were mailed, and when responses were received.   

A project is “wetland adjacent” if the project shares a border with a wetland.

The project description and the map must indicate whether the ERR is site specific or area-wide for public facilities projects.  For a site specific project, the  project description and the ERR map would note the particular site.  A site specific map would indicate the streets or specific lines where work is being  done.  If the exact location of the project has not been determined, however, it is necessary to clear the entire project area.  Only the boundaries of the area need to be marked on the map.  If a project is cleared as site specific and the project site/location or scope of work changes from what was originally cleared, an amendment to the ERR is required and must be submitted to the OCD for review.

Completion for the Statutory Worksheet is the first step in the ERR process.  The worksheet will indicate which, if any, agencies should be contacted for comments.

Each person listed on the HUD website as a contact must be contacted, regardless of whether they belong to the same tribe.

For those areas that FEMA has developed preliminary maps, HUD has indicated that these should be used.  If FEMA has not published flood maps or  developed preliminary maps of the area, the grantee must make a finding based on best available data, such as the municipality/parish engineer, or local  Flood Control Agency.

An audit or financial report is required annually from each grantee within six months from the grantee's fiscal year end.  Once the report has been submitted to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, notification can be e-mailed to Janelle Dickey.

Yes.  An FMQ should be updated anytime there is a change in authority or responsibility.  It should be sent to OCD by mail.  Requests for Payment cannot be processed unless the signatures on it match those on the FMQ.

RFPs are first processed by the OCD and then sent to the Office of Financial Support Services (OFSS), which makes the payments to the grantee.  The deadline for OFSS to receive the RFP is Thursday in order for funds to be available in the grantee's account the following Friday.

Go to the OSRAP Vendor Search page, enter the grantee's Federal Employer Identification Number, select the payee, add filter information if needed, and then click "find payments."  Payments that have been made can be sorted by date to make the search easier.  Click on the Check/EFT Number to see detailed information about the payment.

Go to www.wdol.gov and “Selecting DBA WDs.”  You can then browse by a list of states/territories.  Choose Louisiana, and then find the correct parish in the list provided.  The wage decisions are separated into the four major categories (Building, Heavy, Highway, and Residential).

As mentioned in the Grantee Handbook, the local government has a “ten day responsibility,” which is to ensure that the wage decision(s) that is in effect ten days prior to the bid opening is part of the original bid package (or becomes part of the package via addendum, which must be sent to all who obtained a bid package).  Note: the “Ten Day Call” (an exhibit in the Labor section of the handbook) is no longer an LCDBG requirement.

Yes.  While it is normal to receive contractor clearance prior to contract award (via an executed Verification of Wage Decision and Contractor Eligibility form; an exhibit in the Labor section of the handbook), LCDBG allows contracts to be awarded prior to this provided the award is made “contingent upon” approval/clearance by this office.

The Notice of Contract Award (which is an exhibit in the Labor section of the handbook) must be submitted to LCDBG within 30 days of the award date.  Failure to do so will result in a finding when the monitoring visit takes place.

To request an additional classification for the project, the HUD 4230A form must be submitted to LCDBG.  For instructions on exactly how to fill out the form, please see “Additional Classifications” in the Labor section of the handbook, as well as the instructions in the exhibit.

You must interview all prime contractors, any subs whose contract is $100,000 or more, and any subcontractor that has a large number of payroll problems.  Additionally, you should interview any subcontractors that are present during the time of the interviews.  You must interview half of the laborers and at least one of each other classification present on the jobsite that day.

No, contractors are not required to use the WH-347 payroll form.  However, it is strongly recommended that they choose to do so.  If the contractor chooses to use their own payroll form, all required items from the HUD WH-347 must be included, including the “signature page” of the WH-347 (called the Statement of Compliance), which must be verbatim.  The WH-347 is a standard, straightforward form that contains all information needed by LCDBG (and HUD/DOL) and it can be found in the exhibits of the Labor section in the grantee handbook, as well as on DOL’s website (www.dol.gov).  See the Labor section of the handbook for more guidance on payrolls and how to complete them.

Not necessarily.  If, during monitoring, LCDBG is the one who discovers the underpayment, then it will result in a finding.  However, if the consultant discovers the finding prior to the monitoring visit, and the process of restitution is underway at the time of the monitoring visit, then the result will not be a finding.  If the restitution process is still ongoing at the time of monitoring, then there will be an area of concern in the monitoring letter.  If the restitution process is complete, and all restitution has been paid at the time of monitoring, then there is no finding nor area of concern, and LCDBG considers the issue resolved, as the normal, expected procedure is being followed (consultant discovers underpayment and completes the restitution process).

There are additional penalties.  For CWHSSA violations, in addition to restitution being paid, there are also “Liquidated Damages,” which is a pre-determined penalty assessed by HUD.  That penalty is $27 per worker, per day for overtime violations.  For example, if two workers were underpaid for overtime for two days, then the resulting penalty for liquidated damages will be $108; $27 per worker (two workers), per day (two days).  All payments for liquidated damages must be paid via wire transfer.  For most cases, the violating contractor can request a waiver from HUD for the penalty and HUD will generally grant the waiver (if it believes the error was an unintentional mistake).  However, if HUD believes that this error was made intentionally, or if there are previous instances in which the violating contractor has made the same error, HUD may choose to not grant the waiver (in which case liquidated damages must be paid via the wire transfer).  Please refer to the Payroll review Flowchart in the exhibits of the Labor section of the handbook for an overview of this process, as well as the “Corrective Actions Regarding Labor Standards Violations” part of the Labor section for further guidance.

Any restitution from the project must be reported on the Final Wage Compliance Report, which is part of the closeout documents, which can be found in the exhibits of the Monitoring and Closeout section of the handbook.  Additionally, if restitution for the project reaches $1,000 or more for any contractor or subcontractor, a Labor Standards Enforcement Report (an exhibit in the Section B of the Grantee Handbook) must be submitted to LCDBG once the corrective actions have been completed.