We audited Luzerne County, PA's administration of its Community Development Block Grant funds that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the County for an audit because we received a complaint alleging that the County may have misappropriated Block Grant funds and because of our mandate to audit Recovery Act activities. Our audit objective was to determine whether the County obligated, expended...

We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) conflict-of-interest and financial disclosure requirements as a result of the Authority’s initial failure to comply with an Office of Inspector General (OIG) subpoena during a previous American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 audit. (HUD OIG audit report number 2011-PH-1010, “The Philadelphia Housing Authority,...

HUD OIG audited the City of Memphis’ administration of its Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) and Community Development Block Grant-Recovery (CDBG-R) funds received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We selected the City for audit because it received more than $3.3 million in HPRP funds and more than $2.1 million in CDBG-R funds, the most for any Tennessee city. The City had expended more than $1.5...

We audited the Allegheny County Housing Authority’s administration of its Public Housing Capital Fund grants that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We selected the Authority for audit because it received a $7.7 million formula grant and three competitive grants totaling $5.8 million, which was the third largest formula grant and the second largest amount of capital fund competitive grants awarded in...

We audited the City of Reading, PA’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 as part of our annual audit plan to review activities funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) because the City received $5 million in Program funds under the Recovery Act. Our audit objective was to determine whether the City (1) met Program expenditure deadlines, (2) made Program expenditures that were eligible and adequately supported...

We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (Authority) use of its Public Housing Capital Fund formula grant that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected the Authority for audit based on a citizen’s complaint alleging misuse of these funds and because it received $126.5 million in Recovery Act capital funds. We focused strictly on $31.5 million of the funds that the Authority...

We reviewed the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s (Agency) Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). We selected the Agency for review because it received, in a consortium established with The Housing Fund, Urban Housing Solutions, and Woodbine Community Organization, a nearly $30.5 million NSP2 grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Agency was the only NSP2 grant recipient in Tennessee. Our...

We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (Authority) payments for outside legal services based on a citizen’s complaint alleging misuse of these funds, our observations and concerns regarding the Authority’s use of outside attorneys on prior audits, and concerns over the large sums the Authority paid for outside legal services reported in the media. The Authority paid $30.5 million for outside legal services provided by 15 law firms...

We audited the City of Pittsburgh’s (City) administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected the City for audit because it received a $4.5 million grant, which was the third largest CDBG Recovery Act grant awarded in the State of Pennsylvania and it had disbursed more than half of the grant funds as of July 12, 2010. Our...

We audited the City of Scranton, PA’s (City) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. We selected the City for audit because of the size of its program, its high U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) risk analysis score, and a citizen’s complaint alleging misuse of HUD funds. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the City (1) maintained records and documentation to identify the source and application...

We audited the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (Agency) because it received $95.1 million in Tax Credit Assistance Program (Program) funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The Agency received the largest amount of Program funds awarded in Region III. Our objective was to determine whether the Agency administered its Program in accordance with Recovery Act and applicable U.S. Department of Housing and...

We conducted a review of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans underwritten by First Tennessee Bank, N.A. (First Tennessee), 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...

HUD OIG reviewed the City of Chattanooga’s (City) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (program). We selected the City for review based on its low percentage of obligations and the approaching September 6, 2010, deadline for obligating funds. Our objective was to determine whether the City administered its program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules and regulations. The City generally administered its...

We audited the Harrisburg Housing Authority’s (Authority) procurement function. We audited the Authority because a previous audit conducted in 2007 indicated that there was weakness in its purchasing process. Our objective was to determine whether the Authority procured goods and services in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations and other applicable requirements. We found that the Authority did not...

We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its housing quality standards inspection program for its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program as part of our fiscal year 2010 audit plan. The audit objective addressed in this report was to determine whether the Authority ensured that its program units met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) housing quality standards. The Authority did...

We audited the Harrisburg Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its Public Housing Capital Fund grant that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). We selected the Authority for audit because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Authority a $4.4 million formula grant. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered the grant funds...

We audited the Housing Authority of the City of Pottsville, PA’s (Authority) capital fund grant that it received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). On March 18, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Authority a $992,895 grant under the Recovery Act for its public housing capital fund program. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority administered its...

The Chattanooga Housing Authority (Authority) was awarded a $6.35 million capital fund formula grant and a $4.8 million capital fund competitive grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). In accordance with our goal to review funds provided under the Recovery Act, we conducted a capacity review of the Authority’s operations. The objective was to determine whether the Authority had the capacity to adequately...

We audited the Scranton Housing Authority (Authority) based on a referral from our Office of Investigation. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority followed applicable procurement regulations and used U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds properly. The Authority did not purchase goods, services and property in accordance with applicable HUD requirements, the terms of its annual consolidated contributions...

We audited the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s (Authority) administration of its housing assistance payments for leased housing under its Moving to Work Demonstration program as part of our fiscal year 2009 audit plan. This is the first of two audit reports that we plan to issue on the Authority’s leased housing program. The audit objective addressed in this report was to determine whether the Authority maintained adequate documentation to...