Library Services and Technology Act Grant Adminsitration

Field Guide
for Administering
Library Services and Technology Act Grants

GRANT AGREEMENT
Once the applicant has been notified of the amount of funds awarded for the project, and before a transfer of funds for the project can be made, a grant agreement must be signed between the Division and the applicant's governing authority. The applicant's governing authority is usually a Board of County Commissioners, City Council, governing board or similar body. The agreement is used to establish the legal responsibility of the grant recipient for implementing the project.

Grant recipients are advised to review the agreement for each project. Agreements include any clauses required by Federal and State statutes, executive orders and their implementing regulations. Thus, the base agreement contains standard clauses of compliance and mutual understanding. The typical standard clauses cover the following areas:

Implementation of the project and expenditure of funds as described in the approved project proposal and revisions;
Refunding unexpended project funds;
Provision of any requested statistical or evaluative reports of the project's progress and expenditures;
Retention of project records for five (5) years after the submission of the project report;
Use of adequate fiscal authority and control;
Maintenance of complete financial records;
Provision of an audit in compliance with the Single Audit Act of 1984 (31 USC 7501-7) (Circular A-133) and 45 CFR 1183.26;
Compliance with applicable State and Federal laws and regulations [See section on Certifications];
The grant award amount;
The payment schedule;
The requirement to invest surplus funds and the return of any interest earned to the State.
Responsibility of the Division of Library and Information Services to provide professional advice and assistance as needed in project implementation; and to monitor the progress of the project;
Provisions for cancellation of the agreement;
Observance of all State and Federal laws and regulations applicable to the agreement;
Provision for amending the agreement;
The nonassumption of liability by the Division to pay any fees or charges related to the agreement or imposed by the grant recipient;
Rights and power to remedy any breach or default on the agreement by either party;
Maintenance of bills for services, fees, and travel, for auditing purposes and in accordance with Section 112.061, Florida Statutes;
Provision allowing the recipient to copyright work under the grant and giving Federal and State governments the right to use copyrighted works;
Providing public access to all project documents, papers, letters or other material relating to the project in accordance with Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.

The agreement is prepared by the Division of Library and Information Services and sent to the grant recipient for signature by an authorized representative of the governing body and two witnesses. If any changes are needed in an agreement, the local grantee should contact the State and Federal Grants Office staff before making the changes. Two copies of the agreement must be signed and returned to the State and Federal Grants Office for signature by the State Librarian. The agreement should not be dated by the grant recipient. The State Librarian, indicating the date it was signed and executed will add the date on the front page of the agreement.

After being signed by the Division, one copy with original signatures will be returned to the applicant for the project files. The other is retained in the State and Federal Grants Office grant file.

The grant recipient may encumber LSTA funds as soon as the Division of Library Services executes the grant agreement, even when the actual disbursement of funds from the Department of State has not yet occurred. The grant agreement will specify an ending date, and funds must be spent (paid out) by that date.

Neither LSTA nor matching funds may be obligated or spent prior to the execution of the grant agreement or after the agreement ends. Any grant funds not paid out by the end of the agreement period must be refunded.

Projects are funded only one year at a time. If a project is expected to be continued more than one year, a new proposal will have to be developed for each subsequent year. Similarly, agreements for projects continuing for more than one year are executed on a year-by-year basis. For example, a project extending over two funding years will have two agreements, each with a different project identification number which distinguishes each project and funding year.

All amendments to the grant agreement for projects will be in writing and fully executed by both parties. Amendments will be prepared by the Division, either at its own initiative or upon approval of the written request of the grant recipient.

Sample Grant Agreement