We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to update the IDIS PR-47 HOME Vacant Units Report to include accurate and current data and continue this practice periodically.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to implement adequate procedures and controls to ensure the timely reporting of program income and that it appropriately spends program income.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the City to develop tools to improve record-keeping practices and maintain appropriate databases to track data related to property inspections, onsite monitoring, unit vacancies, HOME program participants, available units, tenant-based rental assistance units, and rents.

Direct responsible field offices to require the grantees identified by the audit to either provide documentation to support $227,260 in unsupported payments or reimburse their programs from non-Federal funds for costs they cannot support.

Provide guidance to field office staff to clarify the statutory requirements in 42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(24) regarding a principal reduction and a downpayment for direct home-ownership assistance activities.

Develop and implement guidance to communicate appropriate ways for grantees to calculate household income.

Reemphasize to field offices the importance of using the correct monitoring guide to monitor direct home-ownership assistance activities.

Recapture the $248,222 in excess program funds from the Authority and allocate in the pool for other tribes to use in meeting program objectives.

Require the Authority to provide source documentation to determine the accuracy of the tribal enrollment numbers reported in 2015 and 2016. Based on those supported numbers, HUD should recapture or offset the unsupported amounts from the awarded $1,746,658 in program funds that resulted from under or overstated tribal enrollment numbers.

Require the Authority to establish and implement controls and formal written policies and procedures to ensure that accurate tribal enrollment numbers are reported to the Formula Service Center and HUD for future grant years.

Support the eligibility of the reported $548 in unsupported program costs or repay its program using non-Federal funds.

Implement controls to ensure that all future check request forms are complete for proper tracking in its accounting records and authorized approver verifies source documentation is attached prior to check issuance for future program expenses as required by its own policies and procedures.

Clarify whether assistance provided under its community development programs, such as HOPWA, are considered “Federal public benefits” and are, therefore, subject to PRWORA’s noncitizen eligibility restrictions.

Consult with the Office of the Attorney General to establish whether HOPWA and other homeless assistance programs are a Federal public benefit that meets the definition of “providing assistance for the protection of life or safety” and are, therefore, exempt from PRWORA noncitizen eligibility restrictions.

Provide adequate supporting documentation for the amount of Public Housing Capital Fund loan to verify the loan source. If another source of Federal funds is determined, repay the amount to the appropriate program from non-Federal funds.

Provide support showing the amount of predevelopment fees paid. If it is over the allowable amount, that portion should be repaid to the project-based voucher program from non-Federal funds.

Provide support showing the source and use of funds paid to the Terrace Lane, LP, and Southside Village, LP, after the RAD conversion or repay the project-based voucher program from non-Federal funds.

Develop and implement procedures to ensure that it maintains books and records that provide the source and uses of all Federal funds.

Ensure that the Authority completes all outstanding annual audits.

Enter into a repayment agreement with Community Management Corporation for the improper housing assistance payments of $5,912 to be repaid to the project-based voucher program or repay the project-based voucher program from non-Federal funds.