We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs require the City to provide documentation showing that it obtained adequate support for contractor invoices related to disaster funds it disbursed to its subrecipient under the program.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs require the City to provide documentation showing that it has strengthened its invoice review process to ensure that costs are eligible and supported before disbursing disaster funds to its subrecipient under the program.

Support that $2,533,377 in costs were reasonable and allowable program expenses in accordance with requirements or repay from non-Federal funds the appropriate programs any amounts they cannot support.

Repay the appropriate programs from non-Federal funds the $1,524,604 in ineligible funds paid when costs exceeded contract terms.

Determine the appropriateness of the remaining balance of $1,242,154 on unsupported contracts to ensure costs were reasonable, reprocure the subject contracts, or reallocate the funds to the appropriate program.

Reprocure expired service contracts to ensure estimated balances of $375,526 are used on eligible contract.

Reprocure any service contracts necessary and ensure that the contracts are properly awarded in accordance with HUD requirements.

Strengthen and implement controls and procedures over procurement, including monitoring consultants, to ensure that procurement activities meet HUD requirements.

Establish and implement an effective system to ensure that payments do not exceed approved contract values.

Establish and implement an effective system to maintain a complete and accurate contract register to ensure proper contract planning and administration.

Provide technical assistance to the Authority to ensure that responsible staff and board members receive necessary procurement training.

Reevaluate the feasibility of the project to determine the eligibility of the $1,014,211 in State Block Grant funds disbursed. If HUD determines that the project has been canceled or is not feasible, the Government of Puerto Rico or its designee must reimburse all project costs to its State Block Grant program from non-Federal funds.

Instruct the Office for the Socioeconomic and Community Development to submit a plan for how it will proceed with the fine arts center project. The plan should include a schedule that HUD can track to ensure the project’s completion without proposing the use of additional HUD funds.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs direct the State to provide documentation to show that the $18,782,054 used for four activities was for eligible and supported costs and did not duplicate other benefits or repay from non-Federal funds any amount that it cannot support.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs direct the State to Implement procedures to ensure that remaining program costs reimbursed with disaster recovery funds are adequately reviewed for eligibility and support, thereby putting up to $8,932,630 to better use.

We recommend that HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs direct the State to provide training to its staff on applicable HUD and Federal requirements for eligibility, documentation of costs, and duplication of benefits reviews.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Houston Office of Community Planning and Development require the Department to support the $240,010 in unsupported procurement payments or repay its CDBG program from non-Federal funds.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Houston Office of Community Planning and Development require the Department to report $22,872 in program income to HUD and properly use program income.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Houston Office of Community Planning and Development require the Department to correct its HOME matching liability report to include the recalculated amount for 2014 and pay the matching liability of $3,301.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Houston Office of Community Planning and Development require the Department to confirm that it has developed and implemented written procurement procedures to ensure that future contracts and subrecipient agreements address the procurement and required provision issues identified in the report.