FEMA Should Review the Eligibility of $523,007 of $5.4 Million in Public Assistance Grant Funds Awarded to the Borough of Belmar, New Jersey, for Hurricane Sandy Debris Removal Activities

We audited one large project (Project 150) for debris removal activities with an award totaling $5.4 million. The audit covered the period from October 29, 2012, to December 2, 2013, during which the Borough received an advance payment of $2.0 million from the State. At the time of our audit, the Borough had completed work under the project, but had not submitted any claims for reimbursement of proect expenditures to the State. The Borough provided us with a list of debris removal expenditures (force account and contract) totaling approximately $6.9 million that it planned to claim to the State under the award.2 We used this list of expenditures to conduct the audit. We conducted this performance audit between May 2013 and December 2013 pursuant to the InspectorfGeneralfActfoff1978, as amended.