We audited four agreements for law enforcement, tribal court, and the general assistance services, between the Blackfeet Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to determine whether: (1) the BIA oversaw the agreements in accordance with applicable Federal laws and regulations and BIA guidelines; (2) the costs were reasonable, supported, allowable, and allocable under Federal laws, regulations, and provisions of the contract; and (3) the Blackfeet Tribe complied with contract terms, Federal laws, and BIA guidance.
We found that the BIA oversaw the law enforcement, tribal court and general assistance agreements with the Blackfeet Tribe. During our audit, we tested $2,271,160 in interim costs claimed by the Blackfeet Tribe from October 1, 2014, through June 30, 2017, and determined the costs claimed were reasonable, supported, allowable and allocable.
We identified payroll errors and instances where tribal employees earned overtime during pay periods where paid leave was taken. These deficiencies occurred because the Tribe does not have an automated payroll system and has not developed a comprehensive overtime policy. As a result, we identified $50,366 in funds that can be put to a better use. In addition, we found that the Blackfeet Tribe complied with the agreements for the general assistance agreement but could improve compliance with its law enforcement and tribal court agreements.
We make four recommendations to help the BIA oversee the Blackfeet Tribe’s compliance with its law enforcement and tribal court agreements. In response to our draft report, the BIA concurred with three of our recommendations and did not concur with one recommendation. Based on this response, we consider three recommendations resolved but not implemented and one recommendation unresolved.