We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to develop and implement a HUD-approved written plan and procedures and take actions that will correct and prevent the monitoring deficiencies in the finding, improve program administration effectiveness, and ensure compliance with HUD regulations and its own policies and procedures as required. This plan and written procedures should include controls to ensure that Northlake complies with HUD’s and its own requirements for monitoring recipients annually as well as documenting and maintaining the monitoring results. Implementing this recommendation should ensure that the $2,092,545 in HUD funds, allocated to Northlake’s four partners for program execution, is better used.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to support $81,013 or repay its program from non-Federal funds for disbursements made without adequate supporting documentation.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to develop and implement additional policies and controls and procedures, including but not limited to a disbursement file checklist, to ensure that adequate supporting documentation for disbursement is maintained in the files.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to support $47,679 or repay its program from non-Federal funds for payments made to contractors without written contracts and independent cost estimates.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to develop and implement written policies and procedures, which reflect the required HUD procurement policy standards and ensure compliance with those requirements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to develop and implement written policies and procedures to ensure that its board members execute the proper forms annually, hold and document board meetings, and review its board governance and HMIS governance charters as required.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to evaluate its staffing level and determine if it should hire additional staff to carry out program activities.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require Northlake to obtain technical assistance from HUD to evaluate the staff’s training needs and to ensure that responsible staff receives the appropriate training for effective program administration.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to repay $2,398,872 from non-Federal funds to the City’s HOME program for funds committed to projects before the completion of an environmental review or HUD approval.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support or repay $424,325 from non-Federal funds to the City’s HOME program for funds committed without documentation of an environmental review.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to comply with HOME’s environmental requirements, including required restrictive contract language, and maintaining documentation of environmental reviews.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support or repay $1,959,913 from non-Federal funds to the City’s Community Development Block Grant program for funds expended for Serenity Place Apartments because the City cannot locate any of the project files.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support or repay $1,402,875 from non-Federal funds to the City’s HOME program for CHDO draws paid with no supporting documentation.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to support or repay $80,842 in program income from non-Federal funds to the City’s HOME program.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to repay $105 in ineligible costs from non-Federal funds to the City’s HOME program.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to strengthen and comply with its underwriting and project evaluation policies and procedures, including ensuring that when it signs and commits funds, project construction can begin within 12 months.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to develop and implement policies and procedures on documentation required to support draws.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to comply with requirements to obtain the required income documentation, including ensuring that employees know and apply the requirements.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to develop and implement policies and procedures to review source income documentation as required by the HOME regulations.

We recommend that the Director of the Fort Worth Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to develop and implement policies and procedures for documenting the results of its recertification procedures, including documenting the results of unpaid taxes, the resolution of CHDO audit findings, and the resolution of ineligible CHDO board members or employees because of a SAM search.