The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General reviewed the allegations contained in a hotline complaint against the Washington County Department of Housing Services, Hillsboro, OR, to determine whether its application and related submissions to secure HUD grant OR0216L0E061500 were false or misleading or would otherwise cause the Clover Court project to be ineligible for Continuum of Care funding. We...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Wyoming Community Development Authority of Casper, WY, for calendar years 2012-2015.  The audit was initiated based on concerns received from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials from the Office of Community Planning and Development program staff in Denver, CO.  The objectives of the audit were to determine...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Evanston Wyoming Housing Authority’s public and Indian housing program funds for calendar years 2013-2015.  We initiated this audit in response to a hotline complaint.  The complaint alleged that the Authority used its purchase cards and laundry machine program income to pay for personal expenses, such as remodeling of staff members’...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the State of Wyoming’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program run by the Wyoming Business Council.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the State reimbursed only approved costs, its grant agreements contained all required language, it properly monitored its projects, and it ensured that projects met the national objective in...

Based on a referral from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Seattle Office of Labor Relations, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed a review of certain payrolls of the owner of Civic Construction, LLC, of Portland, OR.   The payrolls were subject to the Davis-Bacon Act. We completed the review and referred alleged violations to HUD’s Office of Program Enforcement for action under the Program Fraud...

We conducted a review of Home Forward (previously named the Housing Authority of Portland, OR) based on concerns noted during our ongoing internal audit of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of public housing authorities’ compliance with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements.  Our review objective was to determine whether Home Forward complied with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements and...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association (Association) based on information obtained during a separate audit of the Wyoming Community Development Authority (State Finance Agency), which indicated that 51 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages with the same borrower had defaulted.  The purpose of our audit was to determine whether...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Northeast Oregon Housing Authority.  We selected the Authority because we received a hotline complaint expressing several concerns about the Authority’s procurement, asset disposal, payroll withholdings, maintenance charge rates, and tenant commissioner housing issues.  Our objective was to determine whether the allegations in hotline...

We reviewed the administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Loss Mitigation Program at the Wyoming Community Development Authority, located in Casper, WY.  Our objective was to determine whether the Authority properly administered HUD’s Loss Mitigation Program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages.  We selected the Authority based on its high rate of foreclosure claims.  Its...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General is conducting an audit of the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association. We are auditing the Wyoming Housing Opportunities Association based on information obtained during our audit of the Wyoming Community Development Authority that 51 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages by this same borrower had defaulted.  The audit objective is to determine...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Home Forward’s Moving to Work Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected Home Forward, formerly known as the Housing Authority of Portland, because it disbursed the highest average Section 8 funds in Oregon from 2010 to 2012 and third highest in the Region, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.  We focused on its tenant-based...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited Volunteers of America’s (VOA) Whispering Pines Senior Village’s Green Retrofit program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Our objective was to determine whether VOA used its Whispering Pines Green Retrofit Recovery Act funds in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Recovery Act rules and...

We audited the Maine State Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program pertaining to its housing quality standard inspections, and other expenditures and procurements using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds.  Our review was initiated based on a congressional request from Senator Susan Collins.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether (1) the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program...

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited the Mid-Willamette Community Action Agency’s (Agency) Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP). Our objective was to determine whether the Agency disbursed HPRP funds and reported data in accordance with Recovery Act requirements. We found that the Agency paid for HPRP services without adequate supporting documentation for participant...

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, audited Oregon Housing and Community Services (Oregon Housing) to determine whether Oregon Housing established eligible grant projects, reported tax credit assistance program (TCAP) information into FederalReporting.gov correctly, and paid eligible TCAP expenditures in accordance with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requirements. Oregon Housing...

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General audited the Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to determine whether it ensured that properties funded with its Recovery Act Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP 2) grant were eligible, obtained adequate supporting documentation for NSP expenditures, procured goods and services properly, and ensured that program income was properly used. OHCS...

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Inspector General audited Oregon Housing and Community Services to determine whether it timely obligated Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds, adequately monitored subgrantee and contractor performance, properly maintained NSP records, and reasonably assured NSP funds were spent for eligible activities. We selected OHCS because it received $19.6 million in NSP...

We audited the Avesta Housing Management Corporation (Avesta), located in Portland, ME, in response to a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Manchester, NH, Office of Housing field office. The request came after the completion of an Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit of the Orchard Court project. Avesta was the previous manager of Orchard Court and is the current manager of 30 other HUD projects....

In accordance with our goal to review and ensure the proper administration of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds provided under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) and/or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), we conducted a capacity review of the operations of the State of Maine’s (State) Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Community Development (Department). The...

In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), we conducted a capacity review of Warm Springs Housing Authority’s (Authority) operations. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority has the capacity to adequately administer Recovery Act funding. Our limited review found no evidence indicating the Authority lacks the capacity to administer its Recovery Act...