DOVER, DELAWARE – With Delaware set to receive $1.25 billion from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), State Auditor Kathy McGuiness said today she will monitor the federal stimulus money sent to Delaware’s state, county and local governments.
“The amount of federal fiscal aid coming to county and local governments is unprecedented,” McGuiness said. “As the state’s fiscal watchdog, I will be monitoring the flow of these millions of taxpayer dollars to help ensure the money is used as intended: To help Delawareans recover from the financially detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
McGuiness’ plan to follow the money involves the following:
- Identifying state and local government recipients of the federal dollars;
- Creating and maintaining an online fund tracker to help the public see how much money each governmental entity has received; and
- Continued monitoring of her office’s fraud tip hotline for any reports of misused ARP funds.
Once the state has expended its ARP funds, McGuiness said, she will use a risk-based assessment model to determine exactly which state entities her office will audit for compliance.
To help cover her office’s costs to monitor the ARP roll-out, McGuiness has asked that the state allocate $3 million of the CARES Act money Delaware received.
“Providing my office with $3 million so that my team and I can track how $1.25 billion is divvied up and expended is a no-brainer,” McGuiness said. “That’s using 0.2 percent of the total to ensure the other 99.8 percent is spent effectively and efficiently.”
McGuiness continues to provide weekly updates on which state agencies have received and spent their allotment of the $927.23 million in CARES Act funds from the federal government. That fund tracker, which is updated each Monday, can be found online here.
Members of the public can report suspected fraud, waste and abuse of state tax money by calling 1-800-55-FRAUD (1-800-553-7283) or by filling out and submitting this form.
Learn about the Delaware Auditor’s Office at https://auditor.delaware.gov.
Contact: Quinn Ludwicki, Executive Assistant 302-382-7270, Quinn.Ludwicki@delaware.gov.
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