Administrative costs are expenses incurred by a recipient or a subrecipient in applying for, managing and administering the federal award to ensure federal, state or tribal requirements are met.
Management costs may include, but are not limited to:
- Recipient:
- Delivery of technical assistance, including environmental and historic preservation and mitigation planning activities.
- Delivery of mitigation planning or mitigation-related grants management training.
- Solicitation, development, review and processing of subapplications.
- Subapplication development and technical assistance to subapplicants regarding feasibility and effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis.
- Review and processing of mitigation plans for approval.
- Post-award real property monitoring and coordination of disposition requests, including open space compatibility verification.
- Program and grants management activities outlined in Program Administration by States agreement.
- Subrecipient:
- Development and processing of subapplications.
- Both recipient and subrecipient:
- Quarterly Progress Reports and financial reporting.
- Project monitoring.
- Technical monitoring (such as site visits and technical meetings).
- Compliance activities associated with federal procurement requirements.
- Documentation of quality of work verification for Quarterly Progress Reports and closeout.
- Payment of claims.
- Closeout review, reporting and liquidation.
- Records retention.
- Purchase or rental of equipment and per diem and travel expenses directly related to the implementation of HMA programs. These costs must support management cost activities.
- Professional development of state, local or tribal government staff that is directly related to the implementation of HMA programs.
- Personnel costs directly related to performing the activities listed above.
- Indirect costs. Examples include:
- Depreciation or use allowances on buildings and equipment.
- Costs of operating and maintaining facilities.
- General administration and general expenses.
- Personnel and accounting administration.
A.1.1. Personnel Time Eligible Under Management Costs
Personnel costs can be eligible for management costs if the employee or contractor is undertaking activities related to the receipt and administration of HMA programs.
There is no universal rule for classifying certain costs as either direct or indirect (facilities and administrative) under every accounting system. A cost may be direct with respect to some specific service or function, but indirect with respect to the federal award or other final cost objective. Therefore, it is essential that each item of cost incurred for the same purpose be treated consistently in like circumstances either as a direct or an indirect facilities and administrative cost to avoid possible double charging of federal awards.[491]