USM-243: Cost Sheet for Detention Services

This form is only used for Intergovernmental Agreements at non-Continental U.S. (CONUS) locations, Limited Use Agreements (LUAs), juvenile facilities, special medical services rates and certain administrative modifications. Effective November 19, 2007, it is mandatory for most applicants requesting a new Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) or housing rate modification to use the Electronic Intergovernmental Agreement (e-IGA) automated process by submitting the application to the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee (OFDT).

Information on how to fill out the form, download the form, and assist local detention facility officials in completing the form:

What is it?

The Marshals Service is dependent upon state or local governments for the provision of detention space and services for federal prisoners.

In support of this requirement, Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) are established with those local and state governments willing to provide detention space for federal prisoners in return for a mutually acceptable fixed per diem rate based on actual and allowable costs.

Form USM-243, Cost Sheet for Detention Services, to the local United States Marshal's office. The local U.S. Marshal's Service office will forward the cost sheet to the Prisoner Services Division for review, evaluation, and approval

Background

Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.) 4013(a), authorizes the Attorney General to make payments from the Federal Prisoner Detention Appropriation for the necessary clothing, medical care, guard services, housing, care, and security of prisoners held in custody of a United States Marshal pursuant to federal law, under agreements with state or local units of government.

The United States Marshals Service (U.S. Marshal's Service) recognizes that the Federal Government is dependent upon state or local governments for the provision of detention space and services for federal prisoners held for court appearances or for transport to a designated facility for service of sentence.

An Intergovernmental Agreement is a formal written agreement between the U.S. Marshal's Service and a state or local government to house federal prisoners at a fixed per diem rate based on actual and allowable costs for the same level of service provided to state or local prisoners in a specific facility. To request a per diem rate or an increase to the current per diem rate, the U.S. Marshal's Service requires the local governments to complete and submit a Form USM-243, Cost Sheet for Detention Services, to the local United States Marshal's office. The local U.S. Marshal's Service office will forward the cost sheet to the Prisoner Services Division for review, evaluation, and approval.

Transportation services of prisoners to and from court and medical facilities, as well as medical guard services are allowable as a separate line item to the Intergovernmental Agreement. Other Department of Justice user components are the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Bureau of Prisons.

Purpose

The purpose of this guide is to provide clear and consistent guidance for preparation of Form USM-243, Cost Sheet for Detention Services. Criteria used to evaluate fixed per diem rates based on actual and allowable costs will be in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-87, Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87 establishes principles and standards to provide a uniform approach for determining costs and will be strictly adhered to.

Basic Guidelines

The fixed per diem rate will be computed on the basis of actual, allowable, and allocable direct and indirect costs associated with the operation of the facility and that benefit federal prisoners during the most recent accounting period. Accurate prisoner population data must be submitted for the same accounting period as the cost data submitted.

The Intergovernmental Agreements issued by the U.S. Marshal's Service are fixed rate, fixed term, and cannot be adjusted until the rate has been in effect for a period of at least 12 months from the effective date of the agreement.

The state or local government will submit a written request at least 60 days before the intended date.

To be allowable, costs must be:

authorized or prohibited under State or local laws or regulations;
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
net of all applicable credits; and
adequately documented.

In determining reasonableness of a given cost, consideration will be given to whether the cost is generally recognized as ordinary, necessary, and allocable to the federal award.

A determination will be made whether specific costs benefit federal prisoners. If the costs do not benefit federal prisoners, they cannot be claimed on the Cost Sheet. Costs not benefiting federal prisoners are identified as individual line items throughout this document. Some examples of unallowable costs are:
Off-site medical care costs and prescription costs for local inmates and U.S. Marshal's Service prisoners. when the U.S. Marshal's Service is billed and pays separately to the medical facility; and
Costs to operate other local detention facilities where no U.S. Marshal's Service prisoners are housed. Prisoner population data for the other facilities must not be included in Schedule A, Section III.

Credits and Offsets to Reported Costs

Federal grants, services generating revenues, and credits must be offset against the costs submitted on the Form USM-243. See Schedule D for specific items requiring offsetting against operational costs.

Required Adjustments to Reported Costs

Adjustments are required to certain cost categories based on the procedural and physical operations of the detention facility. Specific items requiring adjustment are identified throughout this document, and because of their importance, are also listed below:

If non-detention staff of the sheriff/police department provides services to the detention facility or if the detention staff provides services to functions of the sheriff department, their salary and benefit costs of those employees will be prorated based on the time expended in support of the detention facility. Those costs must be reasonable and allocable to a cost center. Staff of the sheriff/police department used to provide transportation/guard services is not to be included in the operating costs. Guard/transportation services is shown as a separate line item on the Intergovernmental Agreement. The composition of cost is based on the average salary and benefits of the staff that will be used to perform guard/transportation services. The costs are to be provided on a sheet of letterhead and attached to the costs data. If the sheriff/police chief allocates their time between the detention facility and other law enforcement functions of the department, salary and benefit costs must be prorated based on the amount of time expended in support of the detention facility;
If the detention facility is co-occupied by the sheriff/police department, local courts, probation or other local government departments, the costs of utilities, insurance, maintenance, interest and depreciation/use allowance must be prorated based upon the space occupied by each entity to the total space of the detention facility; and
If there is idle or unused space within the detention facility, the costs of utilities, insurance, maintenance, interest and depreciation/use allowance must be prorated based upon the percentage of the idle/unused space to the total space of the detention facility.

Cost Sheet for Detention Services (Form USM-243)

The following instructions are provided as a guide to assist in the preparation of the Form USM-243 and should be used in conjunction with OMB Circular A-87.

Schedule A - Summary

Section I - General Information

Enter the name, phone number, and address of the detention facility in the appropriate spaces.

Section II - Financial Data Summary

Line A. Time Frame (fiscal year). Enter the most recently concluded fiscal year that corresponds to the accounting period of the cost submission.

Lines B-H. Enter the computed totals from Schedules B through G.

Line I. Total Operating Costs (Sum of Schedules B-G). Enter the total of Lines B through H.

Total Actual Operating Costs from Prior Fiscal Year. For the categories reported on the Cost Sheet, enter the comparable operating costs for the prior fiscal year.

Section III - Prisoner Population Information

Prisoner population data must be submitted for the same accounting period as the cost data submitted. Enter the total inmate capacity of the detention facility and the average prisoner population by prisoner type in the appropriate blocks. The average daily prisoner population data should be verifiable to daily count logs or similar control documents.

If the detention facility houses local prisoners elsewhere for a fee, related costs of such an arrangement are not allowable for Intergovernmental Agreement rate-computation purposes; therefore, the prisoners boarded out must be excluded from the prisoner population data.

Section IV - Per Diem

Enter the requested per diem day rate to be charged for the housing of federal prisoners. and the per diem rate paid by other local and state governments for housing their prisoners.

Section V - Local Government Contact

Enter the name of the individual authorized to represent and to act for the local government in jail-day rate negotiations.

Section VI - Certification Statement

The Form USM-243 may be prepared by an individual who has knowledge of and access to the budge and accounting records for which this cost data is based; however, it must be signed by the Comptroller or Chief Financial Officer of the local government.

Schedule B Part I - Personnel Costs

Regular and overtime salaries of personnel by position that work at the detention facility on a full-time and part-time basis are allowable as direct operating costs. If available, a list of these employees (full names, title, and salaries) should be submitted to support Schedule B.

Full-time and part-time salaries for the following personnel on the detention facility's payroll are usually allowable in full:

jail management officials, except the sheriffs salary is only allowable based on the percentage of time spent managing the detention facility's operations;
administrative support personnel;
detention officers and other uniformed personnel assigned to the detention facility;
maintenance personnel;
cooks and aides;
training officers may be claimed as part-time personnel. (If this position is responsible for training the entire sheriffs department, then costs must be prorated and based on a verifiable method, such as the percentage of allowed employees assigned to the detention facility to the sheriffs department's total staffing level.);
on-site medical personnel, if services are provided to all prisoners;
religious counselors; and
transportation officers, if they also perform duties as a detention officer.

Guard/transportation services are shown as a separate line item on the Intergovernmental Agreement as an hourly rate when the primary duties are to provide guard transportation services. Salaries of personnel who perform services that do not benefit federal prisoners are not allowable as follows:

appointed and elected officials; e.g.. mayors. district attorneys, board of supervisors, county judges, etc.;
public defenders, probation/parole officers, local prisoners' attorneys and other local court personnel;
commissary personnel, if the costs are reimbursed from commissary profits;
law enforcement personnel assigned to non-detention functions of the sheriff/police department such as patrol officers, detectives, and investigators;
personnel assigned to local farm operations that support the detention facility and that local prisoners participate in; and
transportation officer if they do not transport federal prisoners

Schedule B Part II - Personnel Benefits

Generally, all related paid personnel benefit costs are allowable for the positions stated above. If salary costs were prorated then the benefits must also be prorated. The following are types of personnel benefits that are allowable:

retirement plan costs;
state and federal (FICA) payroll taxes (limited to a maximum of 7.65 percent);
life, health, and dental insurance plans;
workman's compensation insurance; and
employee uniforms, including shoes, if not claimed as a direct operating cost under Schedule D.

Schedule C - Consultants and Contract Services

Costs for consultant and contract services are allowable to the extent that they benefit federal prisoners. The following contract services are usually allowable:

in-house medical, dental, and mental health care. Medical co-payments charged to local prisoners must be offset against any claimed medical costs. Medical co-payments cannot be charged to federal prisoners or the Federal Government;
custodial and maintenance (prorate if building is co-occupied);
legal services (see unallowable direct costs for exceptions); and nondenominational religious services.
General Education Development Test (GED) and other educational programs, if the short confinement periods for federal prisoners do not allow adequate participation time;
prescription/pharmacy, if the U.S. Marshal's Service is billed separately for such medication; and
electronic monitoring of prisoners and home detention.

Schedule D - Other Direct Jail Operating Costs

The following are examples of cost categories that can be claimed on the Cost Sheet. Any amounts incurred in support of local court and/or law enforcement activities are not allowable. All direct costs must be reasonable and allowable under OMB Circular A-87 guidelines and supported by paid invoices and transaction listing or general ledger entries. Operating costs of separate detention facilities not utilized by federal prisoners are unallowable costs including work release facilities.

food and kitchen supplies. Any monies realized from an employee meal program in operation at the detention facility must be offset against the claimed cost;
inmate clothing;
medical care supplies;
bedding and linen;
toiletries;
recreation and education. If any costs are reimbursed by the Commissary fund, the reimbursement must be offset against the claimed cost;
utilities (prorate, if building is co-occupied);
employee uniforms, including shoes (detention facility staff only, and only if not included as a personnel benefit);
safety and sanitation supplies and services (prorate if building is co-occupied);
maintenance supplies (prorate if building is co-occupied);
office supplies and postage;
telephone and communication (prorate if building is co-occupied);
insurance (prorate if building is co-occupied). Any refunds and earnings or investment income on self-insurance reserves must be offset against the claimed cost;
employee education, conferences, and subscriptions related to the operation of the detention facility;
interest as long as the financing costs were paid or incurred on or after September 1, 1995, for new construction, renovation and expansion that was completed on or after October 1, 1980 (prorate if building is co-occupied). Debt services (principle) is unallowable and and any earnings on debt service reserve funds and interest earned on the borrowed funds pending payment of expenses must be offset against the claimed cost.
current year purchases of equipment costing less than $5,000 (or a lesser amount in accordance with the local government's established equipment capitalization policy). An inventory list of the equipment must be maintained that includes description, date purchased, cost, etc. The cost of equipment claimed here cannot be included on Schedule F - Equipment Cost for the purpose of computing allowable depreciation charges.

The following direct costs are not allowable:

fees paid to other local governments for the housing of local prisoners. Prisoners housed at other facilities should not be included in the prisoner population data submitted in Schedule A, Section III, Prisoner Population Information;
costs for transporting and producing local prisoners to local court proceedings;
alcoholic beverages;
contributions to a contingency reserve or any similar provision, such as for future vehicle or equipment purchases, or for any other events the occurrence of which cannot be foretold with certainty as to time, or intensity, or with an assurance of their happening;
contributions and donations, including cash, property. and services. regardless of the recipient;
membership fees in organizations engaged in lobbying;
fines, penalties, damages, and other settlements resulting from violations (or alleged violations) of, or failure of the governmental unit to comply with federal, state, local, or Indian tribal laws and regulations, except when incurred as a result of compliance with specific provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement;
costs for entertainment, including amusement, diversion. and social activities and any costs directly associated with purchase of tickets to shows or sporting events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities); and
required repayments of unused grant monies to grantors.

Schedule D - "Credits" Line

All revenue generated from the detention facility's operation must be offset against the direct costs claimed on the Cost Sheet. Examples are:

commissions earned from prisoners' use of long distance telephone services;
insurance rebates, recoveries, or indemnities on losses;
commissary profits, if the funds are not placed in a prisoner's trust account to be used solely for the benefit of prisoners;
federal school lunch reimbursements;
employee meal program charges; and
fees, other than prisoner lodging costs. received from other jurisdictions for services provided.

Schedule E - Cost Allocation Plans/Indirect Cost Proposals

The indirect costs or cost allocation plans must be approved by the Comptroller or Chief Financial Officer;
Similar or identical costs cannot be charged as direct costs to the Intergovernmental Agreement. The following categories require scrutiny to ensure duplicate or unallowable claims are not made: travel expenses, legal expenses, conferences, professional services, and miscellaneous expenses; and
The pre-allocation cost basis of each category claimed must be verifiable.
The following are examples of categories of indirect costs, a portion of which may be assigned to the detention facility for inclusion in the Intergovernmental Agreement rate computation:
Motor pool operations, fuel, and maintenance provided mileage is not included as a separate line item on the Intergovernmental Agreement; and
Automated Data Processing (ADP), procurement, personnel, administrative, financial, and accounting support provided by staff of the local government and/or the non-detention operations of the police/sheriffs department.

Local government operating costs not related to the detention facility's operation cannot be included for daily jail rate computation purposes. For example, costs of a water treatment facility would not be allowed if the detention facility is not served by the facility.

Schedule F - Equipment (Depreciation) Costs

Equipment is defined as an article of non-expendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of more than 1 year and an acquisition cost which equals the lesser of (a) the capitalization level established by the governmental unit for financial statement purposes, or (b) $5.000. Cost allowances relating to the use of fixed assets on hand may be made through depreciation or a use-allowance.

If the depreciation method is used, records indicating the amount of depreciation taken each period must be maintained. For either method, charges must be supported by adequate property records, and physical inventories must be taken at least every 2 years (a statistical sampling approach is acceptable) to ensure that assets exist and are in use.

Without a formalized equipment depreciation policy at the local level, a use-allowance of 6 2/3 percent with a 15-year write-off period is to be used to compute allowable equipment use- allowance charges. The following are allowable when computing equipment depreciation or use- allowance charges allocable to the Intergovernmental Agreement:

equipment meeting the local government's established capitalization criteria;
equipment used in the general operation of the detention facility; and
equipment used in programs that federal prisoners participate in;
The following are not allowable when computing equipment depreciation or use-allowance charges allocable to the Intergovernmental Agreement:
payments to cash reserves for acquisitions made or planned after the accounting period of the cost submission;
The cost of equipment received from the Federal Government through the Federal Excess Property Program or similar programs, or purchased with funds received from the Federal Government;
The cost of equipment contributed by or for the governmental unit, or a related donor organization, in satisfaction of a matching requirement;
The cost of surplus, idle, fully depreciated, or inappropriate equipment items;s;
The cost of equipment below the established capitalization threshold; and
The cost of equipment in use in programs that federal prisoners do not participate in (e.g.. detention facility farm operations).

Schedule G - Building Depreciation

The following are allowable when computing building depreciation or use-allowance charges allocable to the Intergovernmental Agreement:

the cost of building additions, renovations, and improvements; and
the cost of land improvements, such as paved parking areas, fences and sidewalks.
The following are not allowable when computing building depreciation or use allowance charges allocable to the Intergovernmental Agreement:
the cost of land;
any portion of the cost of buildings borne by or donated by the Federal Government such as Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) funding;
any portion of the cost of buildings contributed by or for the local governmental unit, or a related donor organization, in satisfaction of a matching requirement;
cost assignable to unused or idle space within the facility;
cost assignable to space occupied by non-detention functions of the local government; and interest, as long as the financing costs were paid or incurred on or after September 1, 1995, for building acquisition and construction, and the related renovation or remodeling was completed on or after October 1, 1980 (prorate if building is co-occupied). Debt service is unallowable and any earnings on debt service reserve funds and interest earned on the borrowed funds pending payment of expenses must be offset against the claimed cost.