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One recommendation carries the entire questioned-cost amount
The Appalachian Regional Commission inspector general’s November 2 audit of Land of Sky Regional Council lists three open recommendations and $1,690 in questioned costs. The dollar amount consists of $1,570 in personnel cost and $120 in fringe benefits identified as non-ARC costs.
The remaining recommendations address policy and documentation: bonus allocation and support showing that personnel charges benefited the federal award.
| Measure | Amount or status |
|---|---|
| Open recommendations | 3 |
| Personnel cost questioned | $1,570 |
| Fringe cost questioned | $120 |
| Total questioned | $1,690 |
| Funds for better use | $0 |
The control finding is broader than the dollar finding
Recommendation 27-07-01 calls for revised bonus and incentive-compensation policies, including one-time awards and allocation based on documented services. Recommendation 27-07-02 seeks adequate support for personnel and related fringe charges.
Those controls can affect future grants even though the current quantified exception is small. Conversely, the existence of broad recommendations does not justify multiplying $1,690 across every payroll charge.
Open does not mean rejected
Oversight.gov labels all three recommendations open. That status means corrective work has not yet been verified as complete; it does not state that the council refused the recommendations or that recovery has already occurred.
The next accountability record is ARC’s resolution of the $1,690 and documentation showing the revised allocation method in use.
Method and limits
The newsroom reconstructed the questioned-cost total from the federal recommendation registry and classified each recommendation by objective. It did not audit the council’s payroll system.
The report concerns a reviewed grant recipient in Asheville, North Carolina. Its nonstatistical findings should not be projected to every Appalachian grant recipient.
Sources and further reading
ARC OIG Land of Sky Regional Council audit, November 2, 2026 ↗
Federal open-recommendation registry for report 27-07 ↗
Public council meeting photograph and public-domain record ↗