We recommend that the Director of the Office of Block Grant Assistance require the Texas General Land Office to evaluate whether its programs would benefit from a longer affordability period and take appropriate actions to ensure that low- and moderate-income communities have access to affordable homes for an adequate period.

We recommend that the Director of the Office of Block Grant Assistance require the Texas General Land Office to ensure that the tax burden implications are a part of the determination of whether to spend significantly more than the damaged home’s appraised value to replace the home. This measure would include ensuring that participants are fully informed of the substantial and material property tax consequences that they could incur based on the increased values of their reconstructed homes (appendix B).

Reimburse its program from non-Federal funds for the $62,377 used to pay for the excess executive compensation.

Develop and implement written policies, procedures, and other financial controls to ensure that Sections 8 and 9 funds are not used to pay for compensation over the salary limit.

Reimburse the U.S. Treasury from non-Federal funds for the $5,000 in ineligible costs paid to its contractor.

Develop and implement written policies and procedures for the payment review process to comply with applicable regulations in 2 CFR Part 200.

Train its staff on its newly developed policies and procedures noted in recommendations 1B and 1D.

Reimburse its program $32,687 from non-Federal funds ($17,045 in overpayments of housing assistance and utility allowances4 $15,642 in administrative fees) due to inappropriate calculations.

Reimburse the appropriate households $1,276 ($1,211 in housing assistance underpayments $65 in utility allowances) from program funds for the underpayment of housing assistance due to calculation errors and discrepancies in the housing assistance payments register.

Support or reimburse the appropriate households $7,869 from non-Federal funds for the unsupported underpayment of housing assistance due to missing documentation for housing assistance payment calculations.

Support or reimburse its program $12,893 from non-Federal funds for the unsupported overpayment of housing assistance due to missing documentation for housing assistance payment calculations.

Pursue collection from the applicable landlords or reimburse its program $4,460 from non-Federal funds for the overpayment of housing assistance due to discrepancies in the housing assistance payments register.

Reimburse the appropriate landlords $450 in housing assistance from program funds for the underpayment of housing assistance due to discrepancies in the housing assistance payments register.

Implement adequate procedures and controls, including but not limited to monitoring and oversight of the program staff, to ensure that (1) utility allowance calculations are adequately supported, (2) income is adequately verified and supported, (3) housing assistance is correctly calculated, and (4) housing assistance payments are appropriately processed in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to support $238,197 or repay its Operating Fund from non-Federal funds for payments made to contractors without written contracts, sufficient independent cost estimates, or cost analyses.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to support $13,270 or repay its Operating Fund from non-Federal funds for the disbursements that did not have adequate supporting documentation.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to strengthen its controls over purchases to ensure compliance with HUD, Federal, and Authority procurement requirements. This includes but is not limited to controls to ensure that it (1) maintains records sufficient to detail the significant history of procurements, (2) complies with requirements for each type of procurement, (3) obtains independent cost estimates and cost analyses when required, and (4) prevents and detects conflict-of-interest situations.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to revise disbursement and credit card policies and procedures to (1) reflect current staffing and procedures and (2) implement additional controls and procedures to ensure that adequate segregation of duties occurs and adequate supporting documentation and approvals are maintained in the files to support disbursements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to obtain training for staff involved in the procurement, funding, and disbursement processes to ensure compliance with HUD, Federal, and Authority requirements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Public Housing require the Authority to implement additional controls and procedures to ensure that RAD disbursements are properly tracked and accounted for.