We audited the Housing Authority of the County of Lackawanna’s Housing Choice Voucher program because we received an anonymous complaint alleging incompetent leadership and poor quality of life at the Authority.  This is the second of two audit reports on the Authority.  Our objectives in this audit were to determine whether the Authority ensured that its Housing Choice Voucher program units met U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program and found that 33 borrowers had more than 1 loan under the program.  Having multiple loans violated program requirements because HUD requires borrowers to reside in the mortgaged residence as their principal residence and borrowers may not have more than one principal residence at the same time.  We...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) methodology and monitoring regarding the Office of Public Housing’s asset management fees and central office cost centers due to our concerns over potential misspending by public housing authorities and the lack of restrictions in the use of such funds.  Our objective was to determine how HUD arrived at the asset management fee limits in its Public Housing Operating...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Columbia, SC Office of Public Housing as part of a nationwide audit of HUD’s oversight of environmental reviews.  We selected the Columbia Office based on our risk assessment.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Columbia Office ensured that it performed the required reviews and did not release funds until all requirements were met and required...

We reviewed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD), Office of Public and Indian Housing’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program regarding HUD’s implementation and monitoring.  We initiated our review because there had been no prior Office of Inspector General reviews of the HUD-VASH program.  Our objective was to determine whether HUD’s implementation and monitoring of the program was adequate. ...

The Inspector General Act of 1978 requires the Inspector General to prepare semiannual reports summarizing the activities of the Office of Inspector General for the preceding six-month periods. The semiannual reports are intended to keep the Secretary and the Congress fully informed of significant findings, progress the Agency has made and recommendations for improvement.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Inventory Management System-Public and Indian Housing Information Center (IMS/PIC) inventory data related to public housing demolition and disposition projects.  The objective of the audit was to determine whether HUD adequately monitored the demolition and disposition projects to ensure the reliability of IMS/PIC inventory data and awarded appropriate Capital Fund...

We audited Middlesex County, NJ’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program based on a risk analysis that considered funding, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) risk score, and prior Office of Inspector General audits.  The audit objective was to determine whether County officials established and implemented adequate controls over their HOME program to ensure that program funds were expended and administered for...

We reviewed the developer fees the County of San Bernardino paid to its Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) developers.  Our objective was to determine whether the County adequately ensured that NSP developer fees paid to its developers met HUD requirements.  We performed our review to address questionable costs identified during a prior Office of Inspector General (OIG) review (audit report 2014-LA-0002).  During that...

Based upon a complaint, we reviewed two Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements as part of a joint assignment with our Office of Investigation and Office of Legal Counsel.  Our objective was to determine whether the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) violated the Antideficiency Act (ADA)  when it obtained the services of two people through IPA agreements.  During the review, we identified potential...

We audited the City of Huntsville’s Community Development Department, which administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program, at the request of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Alabama Office of Community Planning and Development.  Our objectives were to determine whether the Department’s commitment to use CDBG and HOME funds for the acquisition and rehabilitation...

We audited the Truth or Consequences Housing Authority of Truth or Consequences, NM, in response to an anonymous complaint alleging that the Authority inappropriately transferred ownership of some of its properties to the New Mexico Housing and Community Development Corporation and used its assets to support the Corporation’s activities. Our audit objective was to determine whether the Authority had adequate controls to ensure that it complied...

We audited the Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton’s (grantee) use of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Supportive Housing and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds used for the renovation of St. Hedwig’s Veterans Village.  We audited the grantee because we received a complaint alleging misuse of HUD funds and a potential conflict of interest involving the construction management company....

We audited the City of Elmira, NY’s administration of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program based on our risk analysis and funding received by the City.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the City (1) ensured that program activities were adequately documented and administered in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations, and (2) expended CDBG funds for eligible...

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Kansas City, KS, Office of Public Housing as part of a nationwide audit of HUD’s oversight of environmental reviews. We selected the Kansas City Office based on our risk assessment. Our audit objectives were to determine whether the Kansas City Office ensured that (1) the responsible entities or the Kansas City Office performed the required reviews and (2) HUD did not...

We conducted a review of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s compliance with Federal lobbying disclosure requirements and restrictions 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 the Authority complied...

We completed a review of the New York City Housing Authority’s administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.  We selected the Authority based on indicators from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) monitoring reports.  The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Authority administered its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program in accordance with HUD regulations and made housing...

We completed a review of the New York City Housing Authority’s administration of its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program to ensure that its units met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) housing quality standards.  We selected the Authority based on indicators from HUD monitoring reports, such as the Authority’s overall Section 8 Management Assessment Program performance rating modified to standard for fiscal...

We audited the Chelsea, MA, Housing Authority based on a request from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Boston Office of Public and Indian Housing, which was concerned about financial controls at the Authority.  Our audit objectives were to determine whether Authority officials properly implemented financial controls over the allocation of costs, and reasonableness of salaries. Authority officials did not design...

We audited the Hamtramck Housing Commission’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Public Housing Capital Fund competitive grant.  We selected the Commission based upon our analysis of the risk factors relating to public housing agencies in Region 5’s  jurisdiction.  Our objective was to determine whether the Commission administered its grant in accordance with Recovery Act, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...