State Fiscal Recovery Funds Non-Revenue Replacement Reporting Handbook

Last Updated August 31, 2022

Purpose and Summary

Session Law 2021-180 appropriates the entirety of North Carolina’s $5.4 billion State Fiscal Recovery (SFRF) allotment for a wide range of uses. Projects funded by SFRF carry federal and state reporting requirements. NCPRO establishes this reporting handbook to facilitate SFRF reporting on behalf of Administering Agencies reporting on all SFRF Projects except those in Expenditure Category 6.1, Revenue Replacement. Administering Agencies reporting on Projects in Expenditure Category 6.1, Revenue Replacement should refer to the SFRF Reporting Handbook for Administering Agencies with Revenue Replacement Projects. 

This handbook contains information on the following key topics:

1. What Reports are Required and Who Submits Them
   • About NCPRO, Administering Agencies, and their respective roles and responsibilities for SFRF reporting
2. How Administering Agencies Report on SFRF Projects
   • About PANGRAM, NCPRO’s grants management system
3. When Administering Agencies Report on SFRF Projects
   • About SFRF Reporting intervals
4. What Information Administering Agencies Report to NCPRO
   • About required reporting elements

This handbook is not a substitute for guidance and decisions provided by the U.S. Treasury Department, which is the federal awarding agency. Section 5 – Related Resources in this guidance has current links to SFRF resources published by U.S. Treasury and NCPRO.

1. What Reports are Required and Who Submits Them

U.S. Treasury (UST) and the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) require regular reporting on SFRF activities and expenditures. To comply with these requirements, North Carolina agencies receiving SFRF appropriations must track, collect, and report necessary information. The North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office (NCPRO) is responsible for coordinating these reports on behalf of State agencies receiving SFRF allocations. Further definitions and descriptions are below.

NCPRO must prepare and submit the following reports:

• SFRF Expenditure Report: Required quarterly by the NC General Assembly, this report tracks funds spent, funds unspent, and use of funds by State agencies managing SFRF projects.
• SFRF Recovery Plan Performance Reports: Required annually by UST, this report contains information on the projects that recipients are undertaking with program funding and how they plan to ensure program outcomes are achieved in an effective, efficient, and equitable manner. It will include key performance indicators identified by the recipient and some mandatory indicators identified by UST.
• SFRF Project and Expenditure Reports: Required quarterly by UST, this report contains information on projects funded, expenditures, contracts and subawards of $50,000 or greater, and other programmatic information.

Key Reporting Entities:

• NCPRO: NCPRO serves as Coordinating Agency, which is the State agency that oversees and coordinates North Carolina’s responsibilities as a recipient of SFRF funds. As Coordinating Agency, NCPRO is responsible for submitting SFRF reports on behalf of all North Carolina’s Administering Agencies to the (UST) and the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA).
• Administering Agencies: Under the Federal Grants Management Model, the 24 Administering Agencies receiving federal awards are deemed to be prime recipients of the federal awards. Therefore, all State agencies that received SFRF appropriations are considered Administering Agencies and are required to provide expenditure, programmatic, and performance information to NCPRO, including necessary reporting on subrecipients, contractors, and beneficiaries. Administering agencies must provide this information using the PANGRAM reporting portal, which is described in more detail in the next section and in the PANGRAM User Guide linked in Section 5 – Related Resources.

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2. How Administering Agencies Report on SFRF Projects

All reporting by Administering Agencies will be facilitated through PANGRAM, the NCPRO grants management system. Some reporting elements will be submitted as direct inputs in the PANGRAM portal, and other reporting elements will be uploaded to the PANGRAM portal using attachments.

• Log in to PANGRAM through the EBS portal.
• Refer to the PANGRAM User Guide for information on logging in, reporting, and other technical aspects of the PANGRAM system.

2.1 Types of Report Submissions

Direct Input

PANGRAM is set up to accept Core Project Data through direct input on the expense reporting page. For more information, refer to the PANGRAM User Guide.

Attachment

Based on the complexity of data required by UST, NCPRO has developed templates to make the reporting process as user-friendly as possible. These attachments will be used by Administering Agencies to provide NCPRO data on certain programmatic information, subawards (when applicable), performance metrics, and other data for reports that may be required based on updates to UST guidance.

Attachments must be uploaded into PANGRAM on the upload page following the expense reporting page. NCPRO will provide Attachments to Administering Agencies along with any directions unique to the Attachment.

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3. When Administering Agencies Report on SFRF Projects

NCPRO will require the following reporting deadlines based on State and Federal reporting intervals. If additional guidance is required, recipients will be notified by NCPRO. All Administering Agencies are responsible for Monthly and Annual reporting.

General Deadlines and Requirements:

• Monthly: Due by the 15^th of every month for the previous month’s activities (i.e., Administering Agencies must submit May Project data by June 15).
• Annual: Given current UST guidance and State reporting priorities, NCPRO plans to collect SFRF Project performance data on an annual basis. Annual performance reporting content and due dates are currently under consideration.

4. What Information Administering Agencies Report to NCPRO

Based on federal and state reporting requirements, Administering Agencies for all categories except E.C. 6.1, Revenue Replacement are responsible for providing the below data elements to NCPRO. This Reporting Handbook is to be used only for Non-Revenue Replacement projects. For SFRF Projects that fall into the Revenue Replacement Expenditure Category, refer to the SFRF Reporting Handbook for Administering Agencies with Revenue Replacement Projects.

Based on federal and state reporting requirements, Administering Agencies are responsible for providing the following data elements to NCPRO for Non-Revenue Replacement Projects:

Project Data

• Core Project Data: Required for all SFRF projects, includes some programmatic information and overall expenditure information.
• Supplemental Project Data: Required for all Non-Revenue Replacement SFRF projects, with differing data elements depending on the UST Expenditure Category or Sub-Category.

Subaward Data

• Aggregate: For non-personnel Administering Agency expenditures including:
  • Payments to individuals of any amount (this does not include expenditures on personnel by Administering Agencies).
  • Payments to contractors where the total obligation to a contractor is under $50,000.
  • Expenditures to subrecipients (including payments to beneficiaries, grants, loans, transfers) on total subawards that are under $50,000.
• Detailed: For non-personnel Administering Agency expenditures including:
  • Payments to contractors where the total obligation to the contractor is at or above $50,000.
  • Expenditures to subrecipients (including payments to beneficiaries, grants, loans, transfers) on total subawards that are at or above $50,000.

Annual Performance Data

• Data required to assess the performance of SFRF projects and produce the UST Annual Recovery Plan Performance Report.

4.1 Core Project Data

Core Project Data is required for every SFRF project. The table below contains the specific Core Project Data elements. Monthly items will be directly entered into PANGRAM. Annual items will be uploaded into PANGRAM using a template. 

In addition to Core Project Data, there are additional data elements required depending on UST Expenditure Sub-Category under which the SFRF Project is designated. 

4.1.1 Accounting Categories

Administering Agencies must report all SFRF project expenditures by Accounting Category. The table below contains the six Accounting Categories SFRF expenditures must be reported under in PANGRAM.

4.2 Supplemental Information by U.S. Treasury Expenditure Category and Sub-Category

UST requires some additional Project Level information that varies by Expenditure Sub-Category. The table below contains information about these category-specific requirements. 

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4.3 Subaward Reporting

Administering Agencies do not submit standard FFATA information in FSRS.gov for SFRF Projects. Instead, for Non-Revenue Replacement SFRF Projects, UST has adopted modified rules for reporting to comply with FFATA requirements. As Coordinating Agency, NCPRO collects information to submit to UST to satisfy these modified FFATA requirements. All Administering Agencies with Non-Revenue Replacement SFRF Projects must collect subrecipient information and report it to NCPRO with Subaward Data to ensure that North Carolina remains in compliance. 

In the context of SFRF projects, subawards include any SFRF funds an Administering Agency obligates to another entity (i.e. contractor, subrecipient, or beneficiary). Subawards do not include payments to agency personnel. For the purposes of complying with the modified FFATA reporting requirements, subaward reporting is required when the Administering Agency obligates or expends any non-personnel expenditures. 

These modified rules require: 

• Aggregated reporting on obligations and expenditures for subawards less than $50,000. 
• Detailed reporting on obligations and expenditures on subawards of $50,000 or more that the Administering Agency commits or pays to another entity (i.e. contractor, subrecipient, or beneficiary).

As is mentioned above, UST has established a $50,000 or more subaward threshold that triggers detailed Subaward Reporting. For Administering Agencies, this means: 

• Any Administering Agency obligations or expenditures on contractors greater than or equal to $50,000 must be reported in itemized detail.
• Any Administering Agency obligations or expenditures on contractors less than $50,000 must be reported in aggregate (no itemized detailed information required).
• Any Administering Agency expenditures or obligations on subawards of $50,000 or more must be reported in itemized detail.
• Any Administering Agency expenditures or obligations on subawards that are less than $50,000 are reported in aggregate (no itemized detailed information required).
• All payments to individuals are reported in aggregate (no itemized detailed information required regardless of the amount of the expenditure or obligation).

For each reporting period, Administering Agencies will report on all new expenditures and obligations by entering required data into templates provided by NCPRO, then uploading these templates into PANGRAM as attachments. If those expenditures or obligations are greater than or equal to $50,000, Administering Agencies must provide detailed information on the Subrecipient receiving payment, the Subaward under which the recipient is receiving the payment, and each expenditure on that subaward. This information is itemized in the table below.

If a subaward that you previously reported in the subaward attachment changes at any point after you reported it, do not alter the previous subaward entry in the Subaward Template. Instead, enter the change in the subaward amount on a new row in the Template in Tab 5 of the Subaward Template (the Subaward Tab), using a negative sign (-) in front of the subaward amount if you are decreasing the subaward amount.

4.3.1 Aggregate Expenditure Data

For each reporting period, Administering Agencies will report monthly on all new expenditures and obligations by entering required data into templates provided by NCPRO, then uploading these templates into PANGRAM as attachments.

The following information will be required for all expenditures and obligations that are Payments to Individuals of any amount:

• Total aggregated obligations to individuals for reporting period.
• Total aggregated expenditures to individuals for reporting period.

If expenditures are anything other than Payments to Individuals, and they are on subawards or obligations less than $50,000, Administering Agencies must report them monthly in aggregate in an attachment that they will then upload in PANGRAM. The following information will be required for all expenditures on obligations or subawards that are less than $50,000 and are not Payments to Individuals:

• The type of subaward/obligation/expenditures you are aggregating-choose from the following:
  • Aggregate of Contracts Awarded
  • Aggregate of Grants Awarded
  • Aggregate of Loans Issued
  • Aggregate of Transfers
  • Aggregate of Direct Payments
• Total aggregated obligations for reporting period (does not include Payments to Individuals).
• Total aggregated expenditures for reporting period (does not include Payments to Individuals).

4.4 Annual Performance Reporting

UST requires an Annual Recovery Plan Performance Report, which NCPRO must submit to UST by July 31 every year. Administering Agencies are responsible for developing appropriate performance metrics for each Project in consultation with NCPRO and providing narrative and quantitative analysis of their SFRF projects based on categories identified by UST. Given current UST guidance and State reporting priorities, NCPRO plans to collect SFRF Project performance data on an annual basis. Annual performance reporting content and due dates are currently under consideration. The NCPRO team will update this guidance to reflect performance reporting requirements once they have been established.

4.4.1 Annual Project Data

NCPRO is required to provide the information listed in the table below to UST on a quarterly basis. However, it is the determination of NCPRO that this information will not vary on a quarterly basis. Therefore, NCPRO will only require that Administering Agencies provide and update this information annually to reduce the burden on Administering Agencies in the course of monthly reporting. 

4.4.2 Narrative Categories

In the UST Annual Performance Report, UST requires descriptions of how SFRF Projects address the following topics: 

• Promoting equitable outcomes
• Community engagement
• Labor practices
• Use of evidence
• Key performance indicators including outputs and outcomes

Further guidance on these issues will be included when NCPRO releases the SFRF Annual Performance Reporting template to be used by Administering Agencies. 

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5. Related Resources

Appendix

Appendix B: Subaward Reporting Guidance Questions

Have you made any new obligations or expenditures to another entity?

• If no, then no subaward report is necessary.
• If yes, continue to the next question.

Is the entity and individual?

• If yes, then payments to individuals are reported in aggregate, regardless of amount.
• If no, continue to the next question.

Is the expenditure or obligation part of a total subaward that is less than $50,000?

• If yes, then obligations and expenditures get reported in aggregate.
• If no, continue to the next question.

Are you reporting a new obligation or expenditure?

• Obligation: detailed information is required about the entity and funds committed to the entity.
• Expenditure: information is required including expenditure amounts, dates of expenditures, etc.

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Appendix C: Subaward Reporting Workbook

On a quarterly basis, the United States Treasury Department (UST) requires that NCPRO report project activity and expenditure information for all SFRF projects, including subawards made by SFRF recipients.  To meet this requirement, Administering Agencies must submit project and expenditure information on a monthly basis to allow NCPRO time to review and approve monthly project and expenditure data, and to perform necessary calculations and formatting adjustments for data submission in the UST portal. 

This reporting attachment is designed to capture the information needed for regular UST reporting. 

Administering Agencies must complete a Subaward Reporting Attachment for each SFRF project for which a subaward has been made. If a recipient entity has expenditures or subaward expenditures on multiple projects (i.e. SFRF appropriations), Reporter must submit unique reports for each project. 

SFRF Project and Expenditure Workbook Contents:

Each SFRF Project and Expenditure Workbook contains the following sheets:

• Sheet 1. Certification: This sheet is where the authorized representative of the Recipient assigned to complete the workbook (the “Reporter”) provides contact information. 
• Sheet 2. Help Text: This sheet contains further information about each item required in Sheets 4 through 7, including appropriate format, descriptions, character limits, and whether each item is required, optional, or conditional. It is necessary to refer to this sheet as the Reporter completes Sheets 4 through 7. 
• Sheet 3. Reporting Guide: This sheet includes a version of the Subaward reporting flow chart in Appendix B of this document with directions for which Sheets to complete based on conditions.  
• Sheet 4. Subrecipient Information: This sheet is where the Reporter will provide information about entities receiving contracts or grants of $50,000 or more. Sheet 4 is required only if there are:
  • New subrecipients associated with the specified project with total subawards greater than or equal to $50,000, and/or
  • New non-personnel expenditures by the Administering Agency that reach or exceed $50,000 to any contractor as part of administering the project. 

If the Administering Agency does not do either in the relevant reporting period, the Reporter does not need to complete Sheet 4.

• Sheet 5. Subaward Information: This sheet is where the Reporter will provide information about Subawards or obligations of $50,000 or more. Sheet 5 is required only if there are:
  • New subawards associated with the specified project that are greater than or equal to $50,000 and/or
  • New Obligations or expenditures by the Administering Agency that reach or exceed $50,000 to any contractor as part of administering the project. 

If the Administering Agency does not do either in the reporting period, the Reporter does not need to complete Sheet 5.

• Sheet 6. Expenditure Information for expenditures greater than or equal to (≥) $50,000: This Sheet is where the Reporter will provide information on expenditures in the relevant reporting period if there are:
  • New expenditures of any amount associated with the specified project on subawards that are greater than or equal to $50,000, and/or
  • New expenditures or obligations by the Administering Agency that reach or exceed $50,000 to any contractor as part of administering the project. 

If there were no such expenditures, the Reporter does not need to complete Sheet 6.

• Sheet 7. Aggregate Expenditure Information for expenditures less than (<) $50,000: This sheet is where the Reporter will provide aggregated information on expenditures on obligations that total less than $50,000 or on subawards that total less than $50,000 made within the relevant reporting period. If there were no such obligations or expenditures, the Reporter does not need to complete Sheet 7.
• Sheet 8. Aggregate Payments to Individuals: This sheet is where the Reporter will provide aggregated information on expenditures on obligations or expenditures on subawards that were payments to individuals within the relevant reporting period. If there were no such expenditures, the Reporter does not need to complete Sheet 8. 
  • Note: Expenditures that are compensation for agency personnel are not entered here.

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Appendix D: Data Dictionary

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Appendix E: Broadband Infrastructure Metrics

Collection of Broadband Infrastructure Metrics for Broadband projects (EC 5.19-5.21) includes new fields that are required beginning in July 2022 and October 2022.

Overall Project Information

• Confirm that the project is designed to, upon completion, reliably meet or exceed symmetrical 100 Mbps download and upload speeds.
  • If the project is not designed to reliably meet or exceed symmetrical 100 Mbps download and upload speeds, explain why not, and
  • Confirm that the project is designed to, upon completion, meet or exceed 100 Mbps download speed and between at least 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps upload speed, and be scalable to a minimum of 100 Mbps download speed and 100 Mbps upload speed.
• Confirm that the service provider for the project has, or will upon completion of the project, either participated in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) or otherwise provided access to a broad-based affordability program that provides benefits to households commensurate with those provided under the ACP to low-income consumers in the proposed service area of the broadband infrastructure (applicable only to projects that provide service to households).

Detailed Project Information 

• Project technology type(s) (Planned/Actual)
  • Fiber
  • Coaxial Cable
  • Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
  • Other (specify)
• Total miles of fiber deployed (Planned/Actual)
• Total number of funded locations served (Planned/Actual)
  • Total number of funded locations served, broken out by speeds:
    • Pre-SLFRF Investment:
      • Number receiving 25/3 Mbps or below
      • Number receiving between 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps
    • Post-SLFRF Investment (Planned/Actual):
      • Number receiving minimum 100/100 Mbps
      • Number receiving minimum 100/20 Mbps and scalable to minimum 
        100/100 Mbps
  • Total number of funded locations served, broken out by type (Planned/Actual):
    • Residential
      • Total Housing Units
    • Business
    • Community anchor institution
• Speed tiers offered, corresponding non-promotional prices, including associated fees, and data allowance for each speed tier of broadband service (required starting October 2022).

Location-by-Location Project Information

For each location served by a Project, the recipient must collect from the subrecipient or contractor and submit the following information to Treasury using a predetermined file format that will be provided by Treasury on the SLFRF website (required starting October 2022):

• Latitude/longitude at the structure where service will be installed
• Technology used to offer service at the location
• Location type
  • Residential
    • If Residential, Number of Housing Units
  • Business
  • Community anchor institution
• Speed tier at the location pre-SLFRF investment
  • 25/3 Mbps or below
  • Between 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps
• Speed and latency at the location post-SLFRF investment
  • Maximum download speed offered
  • Maximum download speed delivered
  • Maximum upload speed offered
  • Maximum upload speed delivered
  • Latency

For infrastructure projects over $10 million (based on expected total cost):

1. A recipient may provide a certification that, for the relevant project, all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors in the performance of such project are paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing, as determined by the U.S. Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the “Davis-Bacon Act”), for the corresponding classes of laborers and mechanics employed on projects of a character similar to the contract work in the civil subdivision of the State (or the District of Columbia) in which the work is to be performed, or by the appropriate State entity pursuant to a corollary State prevailing-wage-in-construction law (commonly known as “baby Davis-Bacon Acts”).

   If such certification is not provided, a recipient must provide a project employment and local impact report detailing:

   • The number of employees of contractors and sub-contractors working on the project;
   • The number of employees on the project hired directly and hired through a third party;
   • The wages and benefits of workers on the project by classification; and
   • Whether those wages are at rates less than those prevailing.

   Recipients must maintain sufficient records to substantiate this information upon request.

2. A recipient may provide a certification that a project includes a project labor agreement, meaning a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement consistent with section 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(f)). 

   If the recipient does not provide such certification, the recipient must provide a project workforce continuity plan, detailing:

   • How the recipient will ensure the project has ready access to a sufficient supply of appropriately skilled and unskilled labor to ensure high-quality construction throughout the life of the project, including a description of any required professional certifications and/or in-house training;
   • How the recipient will minimize risks of labor disputes and disruptions that would jeopardize timeliness and cost-effectiveness of the project;
   • How the recipient will provide a safe and healthy workplace that avoids delays and costs associated with workplace illnesses, injuries, and fatalities, including descriptions of safety training, certification, and/or licensure requirements for all relevant workers (e.g., OSHA 10, OSHA 30);
   • Whether workers on the project will receive wages and benefits that will secure an appropriately skilled workforce in the context of the local or regional labor market; and
   • Whether the project has completed a project labor agreement.
   • Whether the project prioritizes local hires.
   • Whether the project has a Community Benefit Agreement, with a description of any such agreement.

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