Richmond’s bill in Battery Park flooding increases

A federal audit is requiring Richmond to pay an additional $744,418 of the bill for the flooding of Battery Park three years ago.

The additional expense represents money the federal and state governments would have paid as part of the $42.5 million project, except the audit determined the costs were excessive or improper.

The audit, completed Aug. 31 by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, determined that $783,598 in costs were ineligible for reimbursement under a formula that allocates 75 percent of the expense to the federal government, 20 percent to the state, and 5 percent to the city.

As a result of the findings, the city will foot all of those costs, which represent 1.8 percent of the total project.

The audit said some costs were excessive, such as rates for labor supervision, car and equipment rentals, and other supplies.

The audit also found some expenses to be ineligible for reimbursement -- such as sidewalk repairs, security fees and purchase of office furniture -- and that some labor costs were paid twice. Other expenses weren't documented properly for reimbursement.

Richmond utility officials say the city already has repaid the federal government more than $24,000 in interest earned on money that had been advanced for the repair of the sinkhole that caused the flooding. The city repaid the money and interest early because of delays in the final repair and said they will seek reimbursement of those costs after the work is done.

-- Michael Martz