HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-273-E-County Attorney-North Carolina Department of Treasurer -Federal Filing legal servicesMEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Between
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF STATE TREASURER
And
ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
Background
The Supplemental Retirement Income Plan of North Carolina (the “NC 401(k) Plan”) is a defined
contribution retirement plan sponsored by the State of North Carolina, administered by the North
Carolina Department of State Treasurer (the “Department”), and overseen by the North Carolina
Supplemental Retirement Board of Trustees (the “Board”). The NC 401(k) Plan is available to the
employees of participating state and local governmental employers in North Carolina, and Orange
County participates in the plan.
Participating employers in the NC 401(k) Plan are responsible for certain aspects of plan compliance,
including submitting employer and employee contributions in accordance with applicable law and the
plan document. From 2003 to 2022, Orange County (the “County”) did not make employee
contributions available in two of its 26 annual payroll periods, which violated the plan document (the
“Compliance Error”).
Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Revenue Procedure 2021-30 describes the IRS’s Employee Plans
Resolution Compliance System (“EPCRS”). EPCRS includes the Voluntary Compliance Program (“VCP”),
which allows plans to submit proposed corrections of compliance errors to the IRS for approval.
In early 2022 the Department, as administrator of the NC 401(k) Plan, submitted a proposed correction
of the Compliance Error to the IRS using VCP (the “Original VCP Submission”). The Department retained
outside counsel to prepare and file the Original VCP Submission and to represent the NC 401(k) Plan at
the IRS. The Department communicated this fact to the County and asked for the County’s willingness
to cooperate with the Department and outside counsel in the Original VCP Submission, including
providing information relevant to the Original VCP Submission, subject to any legal, policy, and
confidentiality restrictions, and to assist the Department in the costs associated with outside counsel’s
representation to the extent such representation benefitted Orange County. The County agreed and the
Department, through counsel, subsequently completed the Original VCP Submission without success.
On May 30, 2023 the Department and County entered a memorandum of understanding to provide for
the costs associated with a subsequent VCP Submission.
Purpose
The Original VCP submission was unsuccessful and a subsequent VCP submission is planned to
commence at a future date. Through this second memorandum of agreement the Department requests
reimbursement for the legal costs and all related fees and expenses (including filing and attorneys’ fees)
associated with the Original VCP submission occurring prior to May 2023. The County will reimburse
such fees and costs related to the Original VCP Submission charged by outside counsel, subject to the
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following limitations: All such costs are reflected on Exhibit A, attached hereto, and shall not exceed
Thirty-seven Thousand Six Hundred Eighty-seven Dollars ($37,687.00).
Accepted and agreed:
By: _________________________________ Date: ________________
Thomas G. Causey
Executive Director, Retirement Systems Division
North Carolina Department of State Treasurer
By: _________________________________ Date: ________________
Bonnie Hamersley
Orange County Manager
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Exhibit A
INVOICE
Expenses for VCP Filing Charged to and Paid by the
Department for Legal Services Benefitting Orange
County
Expenses
February 2022 $ 3,226
March 2022 $ 485
April 2022 $ 0
May 2022 $ 2,104
June 2022 $ 1,199
July 2022 $ 0
August 2022 $ 7,668
September 2022 $ 0
October 2022 $ 1,046
November 2022 $ 7,996
December 2022 $ 4,997
January 2023 $ 5,110
February 2023 $ 3,858
TOTAL $ 37,687
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Revised 04/23
1
ORANGE COUNTY—INTERNAL USE ONLY
______________________________________________________________________________
Finance Information
Vendor Name: North Carolina Department of Treasurer Vendor Contact Person: Reid Chisholm Phone: 919-814-
3843 Address:3200 Atlantic Ave City Raleigh State: NC Zip: 27604 Department: County Attorney Amount:
$37,687 Purpose: Federal Filing legal services Budget Code(s): 10210020-630000 Vendor # 32738
Vendor Status with NCSOS: Vendor is a BOCC consultant: Yes No
Contract Details
Contract Type: New Amendment (Original Contract: ) (Most Recent Amendment )
Effective Date 5-26-23 End Date Notice Date (Notice Purpose )
Award
Approved by Board (Agenda Date: ); Made or Administered by County Attorney
Signature Authority
- BOCC Express Delegation (Agenda Date: )
- Policy 9.4: Under $5,000; Service Under $90,000; Construction Under $250,000
- Budget Policy Section XV (Capital Improvement Project: )
Bidding
Informal Bidding ($30k-$90k); Formal RFP ($90k+); Other (<$30k); Exception(# )
Department Affirmation
This agreement is approved as to technical form and content and I as Department Director affirmatively state work
on this project has not been initiated prior to execution of the agreement.
Services related to this agreement have already begun or been completed. Description of the nature of the
emergency condition that was addressed: Federal government complaint
Department Director’s Signature ________________________________________ Date: ________
Information Technologies
This agreement has been reviewed and is approved as to information technology content and specifications:
Office of the Chief Information Officer___________________________________ Date: ________
Inapplicable because no hardware/software purchases or related services
Risk Management
This agreement is approved for sufficiency of insurance standards, specifications, and requirements:
Office of the Risk Management Officer___________________________________ Date: _________
Financial Services
This instrument has been pre-audited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act:
Office of the Chief Financial Officer ____________________________________ Date: _________
Legal Services
This agreement is approved as to legal form and sufficiency:
Office of the County Attorney __________________________________________Date: ________
Clerk to the Board
All Docusign contracts must be copied to the Clerk upon completion: occlerkdocs@orangecountync.gov
The following signature block is for hard copies only and is not required for Docusign contracts:
Received for record retention:
Office of the Clerk to the Board __________________________________________Date:_________
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