Federal funds may be used to reimburse direct costs of salaries, wages, and related payroll expenses of Local Government Agency (LGA) employees, but only for those costs incurred when the LGA's employees are directly engaged in eligible activities. Related payroll costs include travel, transportation, leave, holidays, social security, retirement, and other payroll benefits.
Federal funds may also be used for associated indirect costs; however, NCDOT must review and approve indirect cost rates. LGAs are encouraged to coordinate with the Local Programs Management Office (LPMO) as needed.
IMPORTANT: This does not include services of LGA staff that perform general administrative work. For example, attendance at project meetings by managers, technicians, or administrative staff not directly involved in the development or implementation of the project are not eligible.
Procedure
1. Submit a letter to NCDOT requesting the use of In-House Staff to undertake a specified scope of work, document staff qualifications, staff time, wage rates and proposed equipment usage to show an estimate of costs:
- Staff time (hours) for each phase of the work (survey, design, inspection, etc.). Staff time should be estimated separately for individual employees or classifications of employees.
- Wage rates for each employee or classification of employee. Include supporting documentation that shows how the wage rates were calculated, including any payroll expenses that are part of the wage rate, such as Local Government Employee Retirement System (LGERS), Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), employee benefits, or other related payroll expenses.
- Equipment usage and other design-related costs. These must include supporting documentation to show how the estimated costs or cost rates were determined. Examples include estimated Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD) hours and rate, vehicle miles and rate, outside printing costs, etc.
IMPORTANT: A request for the use of In-House Staff must be submitted and approved prior to performing the work, to be eligible for Reimbursement.
2. NCDOT will respond in writing to indicate if the decision to undertake this work in-house is acceptable.
3. If utilizing In-House Staff, certified payroll documentation and the inclusion of related payroll expenses should be included as part of the LGA reimbursement request.
