CCM Corrections Budgeting & Administration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A county corrections administrator is asked to present a cost-per-bed-day figure. Which costs should be EXCLUDED from this calculation?
- Officer salaries allocated to the facility
- Depreciation on facility infrastructure
- One-time capital expenditures for a new wing (Correct answer)
- Utilities consumed by the housing units
Correct answer: One-time capital expenditures for a new wing
One-time capital expenditures are typically excluded from operating cost-per-bed-day calculations because they distort the recurring operational cost picture.
Question 2: Which procurement method is most appropriate when the technical requirements for a corrections services contract cannot be fully specified in advance?
- Invitation for bids (IFB)
- Request for proposals (RFP) (Correct answer)
- Sole-source award
- Blanket purchase agreement
Correct answer: Request for proposals (RFP)
An RFP is used when scope is complex or not fully defined, allowing vendors to propose solutions and compete on best value rather than just lowest price.
Question 3: What term describes the practice of shifting expenditures from one budget year to another to manage year-end balances?
- Fund sweeping
- Budget lapsing
- Expenditure timing manipulation (Correct answer)
- Allotment control
Correct answer: Expenditure timing manipulation
Expenditure timing manipulation involves deliberately accelerating or delaying spending to influence year-end balances, which may violate fiscal integrity rules.
Question 4: A corrections agency's indirect cost rate is 22%. If a federal grant project has $500,000 in direct costs, what is the total project budget including indirect costs?
- $522,000
- $590,000
- $610,000 (Correct answer)
- $722,000
Correct answer: $610,000
Total budget = $500,000 direct costs × (1 + 0.22) = $500,000 + $110,000 indirect = $610,000.
Question 5: Which internal control is most effective at preventing duplicate vendor payments in a corrections agency accounts payable process?
- Requiring two signatures on all checks
- Three-way matching of purchase orders, receiving reports, and invoices (Correct answer)
- Monthly bank reconciliations
- Annual external audits
Correct answer: Three-way matching of purchase orders, receiving reports, and invoices
Three-way matching verifies that the purchase order, receiving document, and vendor invoice all agree before payment is authorized, preventing duplicates and unauthorized payments.
Question 6: Under the ACA Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions, staffing plans used in budget development should be primarily driven by which factor?
- Historical overtime spending patterns
- Post coverage requirements based on facility design and inmate classification (Correct answer)
- Comparable salaries at neighboring jurisdictions
- Union contract minimum staffing ratios
Correct answer: Post coverage requirements based on facility design and inmate classification
ACA standards require staffing plans to be derived from post coverage requirements that account for the facility's physical layout and the security needs of the inmate population.
Question 7: A state corrections department receives a federal grant requiring a 25% local match. If the federal share is $750,000, what must the agency contribute?
- $187,500
- $250,000 (Correct answer)
- $187,500
- $300,000
Correct answer: $250,000
A 25% local match on a total project where federal = 75% means: total = $750,000 / 0.75 = $1,000,000; local match = $1,000,000 × 0.25 = $250,000.
CCM Corrections Budgeting & Administration 3
A county corrections administrator is asked to present a cost-per-bed-day figure.
Which costs should be EXCLUDED from this calculation?