The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General conducted a review of the City of Columbus, GA’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) to determine whether the City had demonstrated the capacity to properly obligate all NSP1 grant funds and at least 25 percent of the grant toward occupants with incomes below 50 percent of the median income in the locality (LH25) set-aside by the September...

HUD OIG performed an audit of the East Point Housing Authority (Authority) Housing Choice Voucher program. We selected the Authority due to the lack of onsite monitoring performed by the Office of Public Housing, Georgia State Office, over the past 10 years and the fact that the number of program tenants had more than doubled over the past few years. The purpose of the audit was to determine (1) whether the Authority established procedures to...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited ACORN Associates, Inc.’s (Associates) use of its fiscal years 2004 and 2005 Lead Elimination Action Program (program) grant funds. Associates was selected for audit based upon a request from HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control and multiple congressional requests. Our objective was to determine whether Associates expended program...

We audited the Jefferson Parish Housing Authority as part of our annual audit plan to review public housing programs. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority operated in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and other requirements. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether the Authority (1) complied with procurement requirements and (2) ensured that its expenditures were eligible and...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Shreveport (Authority) as part of our annual audit plan to review American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) funds. Our objective was to determine whether obligations the Authority made between January 30 and March 17, 2010, were appropriate, prudent, eligible, and supported and whether procurements were made in accordance with requirements. We determined that the Authority...

We conducted a review of 20 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by Pine State Mortgage Corporation (Pine State), an FHA direct endorsement lender. This review was conducted as part of our “Operation Watchdog” initiative to review the underwriting of 15 direct endorsement lenders at the suggestion of the FHA Commissioner. The Commissioner expressed concern regarding the increasing claim rates against the FHA insurance fund for...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Inspector General conducted a review of the City of Augusta, GA’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP1) to determine whether the City had demonstrated the capacity to properly obligate all NSP1 grant funds and at least 25 percent of the grant toward occupants with incomes below 50 percent of the median income in the locality (LH25) set-aside by the September 5...

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of DeKalb County’s use of its net restricted assets based on a request from the Atlanta Office of Public Housing. The request indicated that a significant amount of net restricted assets was used to pay for items other than the required housing assistance payments. The purpose of the audit was to determine how the Authority expended its net restricted assets and what controls were in place to...

We audited the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development’s (State), Orleans Parish Long Term Community Recovery Program (Program), administered by the State’s subrecipient, the City of New Orleans (City). Our objective was to determine whether the City, as the State’s subrecipient, met the requirements of its cooperative endeavor agreement (agreement) with the State during its administration of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’...

We performed a review of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development’s (State), Louisiana Tourism Marketing Program (Program), administered by the State’s subrecipient, the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT). We initiated the review as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of activities related to Gulf Coast hurricane disaster relief efforts. Our objective was...

We completed an inspection of the State of Louisiana’s (State) Road Home Elevation Incentive (elevation grant) program funded by HUD Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery funds.  We wanted to know whether homeowners used the funds to elevate their homes as set forth in their grant agreements.  Our inspection covered 199 (about 10 percent) of the 1,906 property owners who received more than $44.4 million in elevation...

HUD OIG performed an audit of Mortgage Counseling Services, Inc., a Federal Housing Administration approved non-supervised lender. The review was performed based on the lender’s high default rates. The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the lender followed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements for (1) borrower eligibility and creditworthiness and property eligibility when underwriting loans and (2...

We performed an audit of the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development (State), Recovery Workforce Training Program (Program) administered by the State’s subrecipient, Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC). We initiated the audit as part of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Gulf Coast Region’s audit plan and examination of relief efforts provided by the Federal Government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Our audit...

As part of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General's obligation to ensure accountability and transparency in use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds, we performed a review to assess the Housing Authority of New Orleans' (Authority) capacity to administer $34.5 million in ARRA funding. Our objective was to evaluate the Authority's capacity and risks in the following areas:...

The City of Atlanta (City) received a $12.3 million Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant from HUD that was authorized under Title III of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Also, the City applied for an additional $57.9 million in NSP funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the City for review due to the amount of its NSP funding and because of performance concerns identified during our previous...

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of the City of Conyers' administration of its disbursements and procurement procedures. The Georgia State Office of Public Housing requested the audit due to concerns regarding the use of its funds and violation of its procurement procedures The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the Authority used its federal funds in compliance with HUD regulations and other requirements. The...

HUD OIG performed an audit of the Housing Authority of the City of Conyers' administration of its disbursements and procurement procedures. The Georgia State Office of Public Housing requested the audit due to concerns regarding the use of its funds and violation of its procurement procedures The purpose of the audit was to determine whether the Authority used its federal funds in compliance with HUD regulations and other requirements. The...

We audited the City of Atlanta’s (City) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) because it has received more than $17 million in HOME funding since 2005. Our objective was to determine whether the City accurately entered commitments into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Integrated Disbursement and Information System (information system) for HOME-funded activities. The City did not comply with HUD requirements...