We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to complete HUD’s “Lead the Way” online training and Texas’ Open Meetings Act training.
2021-FW-1003 | Septiembre 29, 2021
The Bay City Housing Authority, Bay City, TX, Did Not Follow Requirements for Its Legal Services Contract, Administrative Costs, and Board Meetings
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-AOpenClosed
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-BOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to review the board minutes during our audit period, determine which board decisions were invalid, and take action to address the invalid decisions.
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-COpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to revise its bylaws to agree with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
2021-CH-0001 | Septiembre 15, 2021
HUD Remains Challenged To Serve the Maximum Number of Eligible Families Due to Decreasing Utilization in the Housing Choice Voucher Program
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-CH-0001-001-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a plan to assist public housing agencies in optimizing leasing potential to maximize the number of assisted families and prevent additional vouchers from becoming unfunded. The plan should include but not be limited to (1) addressing the circumstances that prevent public housing agencies from leasing vouchers and assessing whether legislative, policy, or funding changes are needed to optimize voucher use and (2) establishing timeframes to lease vouchers for those public housing agencies that can lease vouchers and determining appropriate corrective actions for those public housing agencies that do not increase their leasing to prevent additional vouchers from becoming unfunded.
- Status2021-CH-0001-001-BOpenClosedPrioridadPriority
We believe these open recommendations, if implemented, will have the greatest impact on helping HUD achieve its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
Establish and implement a plan for the unused and unfunded vouchers to mitigate or prevent additional vouchers from becoming unused and unfunded […]
Corrective Action Taken
HUD established and implemented a plan for the unused and unfunded vouchers, aiming to mitigate or prevent additional vouchers from becoming unused and unfunded. PIH's plan included the following, among other actions:
- Determining the scope of HUD's statutory and regulatory authority to offset and reallocate vouchers.
- Issuing Office of Public and Indian Housing Notice 2020-29, titled Guidance for Running an Optimized Housing Choice Voucher Program.
- Continuing the work of HUD's landlord taskforce, engaging in listening sessions with major PHA industry groups, and conducting outreach to increase landlord participation in the HCV Program.
- Developing research by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research on the best methods for adjusting fair market rents and addressing specific challenges in local communities to increase utilization in the HCV Program.
2021-KC-0003 | Julio 26, 2021
HUD’s Major Program Offices Can Improve Their Preparedness To Respond to Upcoming Natural Disasters
Community Planning and Development
- Status2021-KC-0003-003-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a process to ensure that CPD’s supervisory controls are effective related to its staff’s requirement to contact grantees following a disaster. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.
Housing
- Status2021-KC-0003-002-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a process to ensure that the Office of Single Family Housing’s policies, procedures, and supervisory controls are effective. This process should address the proper use, maintenance, and reporting of gathered information on disaster-damaged properties as well as the proper assessment of properties with appropriate disaster codes. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-KC-0003-004-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a process to ensure that ONAP’s policies and procedures are effective. This process should address the identification of presidentially declared disaster areas and the requirement to contact disaster-affected housing entities. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.
- Status2021-KC-0003-005-AOpenClosed
Improve the Office of Public Housing’s procedures with written guidance to ensure that its staff formally tracks outreach to PHAs.
2021-FW-1002 | Junio 21, 2021
The City of Houston’s Housing and Community Development Department, Houston, TX, Did Not Always Ensure That Its Program Followed Procurement Requirements
Community Planning and Development
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-AOpenClosed$9,736,636Funds Put to Better Use
Recommendations that funds be put to better use estimate funds that could be used more efficiently. For example, recommendations that funds be put to better use could result in reductions in spending, deobligation of funds, or avoidance of unnecessary spending.
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to provide documentation, including but not limited to showing that it (1) notified and allowed a response from bidders regarding the bidding and scoring processes; and (2) awarded home repair master agreement contracts without restriction and were in line with the bid evaluation requirements, or provide a documented re-evaluation of the procurement showing that it provided the best advantage to it and HUD, thereby putting the remaining $9,736,636 award amount to better use.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-BOpenClosed$1,063,364Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support $1,063,364 or repay its CDBG-DR program from non-Federal funds for payments made to one prequalified contractor under its home repair program without independent cost estimates and cost analyses.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-COpenClosed$170,066Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support $170,066 or repay its CDBG-DR program from non-Federal funds for payments made to the demolition contractor under its housing buyout program without independent cost estimates and cost analyses.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-DOpenClosed$27,250Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support $27,250 or repay its CDBG-DR program from non-Federal funds for payments made to three appraisal contractors under its housing buyout program without cost analyses.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-EOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to develop and implement a HUD-approved written plan and checklists that will correct and prevent the deficiencies outlined in the finding.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-FOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to provide training to City staff to ensure that it understands and follows procurement requirements, such as performing independent cost estimates, cost analysis, scoring, including all contract provisions, ensuring that subrecipients understand and follow procurement requirements, and maintaining appropriate procurement documentation.
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-GOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to Update its procurement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with disaster assistance program requirements
- Status2021-FW-1002-001-HOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to ensure that monitoring includes a review of its subrecipients’ (1) policies and procedures to ensure that the policies and procedures are current and comply with HUD requirements, (2) documentation supporting cost reasonableness to ensure that the documentation is sufficient, and (3) training provided regarding procurement and other program requirements to ensure that trainings are adequate.
2021-PH-0002 | Marzo 29, 2021
Reimbursements Received Through Rent Credits From the General Services Administration
Office of Administration
- Status2021-PH-0002-001-BOpenClosed
We recommend that HUD’s Chief Administrative Officer implement the corrective actions and internal process improvements in internal control developed as a result of the Chief Financial Officer’s investigation addressed in recommendation 1A.
- Status2021-PH-0002-001-COpenClosed
We recommend that HUD’s Chief Administrative Officer provide training to responsible staff and officials to ensure that those that may be involved with negotiating any GSA rent credits, like the credits addressed in this report, identify such potential rent credit transactions and follow the corrective actions and process improvements implemented to resolve recommendation 1B.
Chief Financial Officer
- Status2021-PH-0002-001-AOpenClosed
We recommend that HUD’s Chief Financial Officer investigate the facts surrounding the potential Antideficiency Act violation involving the $7,787,675 in rent credits and make a formal determination. If it is determined that a violation occurred, the Chief Financial Officer should develop corrective action plans or internal process improvements as necessary, take disciplinary actions as appropriate, and report the identified violations to the oversight authorities including the HUD Secretary, the President, OMB, Congress and the Comptroller General.