We recommend that Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority to reimburse its low-rent operating fund $4,469 from its Housing Choice Voucher Program fund for the expenses that should have been paid from its Housing Choice Voucher Program fund.
2021-FW-1003 | September 29, 2021
The Bay City Housing Authority, Bay City, TX, Did Not Follow Requirements for Its Legal Services Contract, Administrative Costs, and Board Meetings
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-FW-1003-002-BOpenClosed$4,469Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
- Status2021-FW-1003-002-COpenClosed$704Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority to reimburse its Housing Choice Voucher Program fund $704 from non-Federal funds for the ineligible travel and training expenditures.
- Status2021-FW-1003-002-DOpenClosed$31,327Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority to support or repay $31,327 to its low-rent operating fund from non-Federal funds for the various unsupported expenditures.
- Status2021-FW-1003-002-EOpenClosed$584Questioned Costs
Recommendations with questioned costs identify costs: (A) resulting from an alleged violation of a law, regulation, contract, grant, or other document or agreement governing the use of Federal funds; (B) that are not supported by adequate documentation (also known as an unsupported cost); or (C) that appear unnecessary or unreasonable.
We recommend that Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority to support or repay $584 to its Housing Choice Voucher Program fund from non-Federal funds for the unsupported travel, training, and phone expenses paid with Housing Choice Voucher Program funds.
- Status2021-FW-1003-002-FOpenClosed
We recommend that Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority to update and implement its policies and procedures, including creating a policy for recording expenses, a cost allocation plan, and a travel policy, to ensure that the Authority appropriately pays and accurately reports its costs.
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-AOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to complete HUD’s “Lead the Way” online training and Texas’ Open Meetings Act training.
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-BOpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to review the board minutes during our audit period, determine which board decisions were invalid, and take action to address the invalid decisions.
- Status2021-FW-1003-003-COpenClosed
We recommend that the Director of the Houston Office of Public Housing require the Authority’s new board to revise its bylaws to agree with the Texas Open Meetings Act.
2021-CH-0001 | September 15, 2021
HUD Remains Challenged To Serve the Maximum Number of Eligible Families Due to Decreasing Utilization in the Housing Choice Voucher Program
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-CH-0001-001-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a plan to assist public housing agencies in optimizing leasing potential to maximize the number of assisted families and prevent additional vouchers from becoming unfunded. The plan should include but not be limited to (1) addressing the circumstances that prevent public housing agencies from leasing vouchers and assessing whether legislative, policy, or funding changes are needed to optimize voucher use and (2) establishing timeframes to lease vouchers for those public housing agencies that can lease vouchers and determining appropriate corrective actions for those public housing agencies that do not increase their leasing to prevent additional vouchers from becoming unfunded.
- Status2021-CH-0001-001-BOpenClosedPriorityPriority
We believe these open recommendations, if implemented, will have the greatest impact on helping HUD achieve its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
Establish and implement a plan for the unused and unfunded vouchers to mitigate or prevent additional vouchers from becoming unused and unfunded […]
Corrective Action Taken
HUD established and implemented a plan for the unused and unfunded vouchers, aiming to mitigate or prevent additional vouchers from becoming unused and unfunded. PIH's plan included the following, among other actions:
- Determining the scope of HUD's statutory and regulatory authority to offset and reallocate vouchers.
- Issuing Office of Public and Indian Housing Notice 2020-29, titled Guidance for Running an Optimized Housing Choice Voucher Program.
- Continuing the work of HUD's landlord taskforce, engaging in listening sessions with major PHA industry groups, and conducting outreach to increase landlord participation in the HCV Program.
- Developing research by HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research on the best methods for adjusting fair market rents and addressing specific challenges in local communities to increase utilization in the HCV Program.
2021-KC-0003 | July 26, 2021
HUD’s Major Program Offices Can Improve Their Preparedness To Respond to Upcoming Natural Disasters
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-KC-0003-004-AOpenClosed
Establish and implement a process to ensure that ONAP’s policies and procedures are effective. This process should address the identification of presidentially declared disaster areas and the requirement to contact disaster-affected housing entities. This process should also integrate with other HUD program offices as appropriate to improve consistency with HUD’s overall disaster response and to ensure the effectiveness of disaster controls.
- Status2021-KC-0003-005-AOpenClosed
Improve the Office of Public Housing’s procedures with written guidance to ensure that its staff formally tracks outreach to PHAs.
2021-AT-0002 | May 17, 2021
HUD Did Not Fully Comply With the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019
Chief Financial Officer
- Status2021-AT-0002-001-AOpenClosedPriorityPriority
We believe these open recommendations, if implemented, will have the greatest impact on helping HUD achieve its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
For the MF-RAP, PIH-TRA, and CPD-HIM programs, ensure that the program's improper payments rate estimates adequately test for and include improper payments of Federal funding that are made by State, local, and other organizations administering these programs and adequately disclose any limitations imposed or encountered when reporting on improper payments, to a degree that fairly informs users of the respective reported information.
Status
This recommendation was closed by HUD. However, OIG continues to object to that closure and identifies this as a priority recommendation. After HUD closed this recommendation, it informed OIG that it would not be able to produce estimates of improper payments in these programs for FY 2023 and projected to the Office of Management and Budget that it may not be able to do so until FY 2027, dependent on funding.
For several years, we have reported that HUD was unable to test for improper payments in these programs because the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) was unsuccessful in working with the Offices of Public and Indian Housing, Multifamily Housing Programs, and the Chief Information Officer to securely collect program files needed to test payments. This year, OCFO reported that HUD was again unable to complete improper payment testing because it was delayed in implementing a secure platform designed to collect supporting data and documentation and also because of limited staffing resources with technical knowledge of the payment cycles. The lack of proper planning and coordination from leadership in HUD’s program and support offices has prevented HUD from addressing the root causes behind the failure to comply with improper payment laws.
Due to this, HUD OIG issued a management alert to the HUD Deputy Secretary entitled Action Is Needed From HUD Leadership To Resolve Systemic Challenges With Improper Payments, on January 23, 2024. In response to the Management Alert, the Deputy Secretary stated that she would provide a plan in 30 days. On April 10, 2024, the Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Secretary for Housing, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing (PIH) stated their respective executives have been working together to develop a plan to accelerate HUD’s ability to produce statistically valid estimates. With respect to project-based rental assistance (PBRA), HUD plans to use ongoing data collection for fiscal year (FY) 2023 tier 1 and tier 2 payments to develop a statistical estimate in FY 2024. With respect to PIH-TBRA, in lieu of pursuing an estimate for the FY 2024 reporting cycle, PIH will focus on “its existing efforts to enhance PIH [IT] systems”, which HUD considers to be a more strategic use of resources. It is not clear from HUD’s response what PIH will do differently than it already had planned prior to the management alert as HUD did not provide a detailed plan or timeline for OIG review. As of June 21, 2024, a detailed plan or timeline has not been provided.
Analysis
HUD has been challenged with developing a compliant sampling methodology that can test the full payment cycle and that can be executed within the required timeframes. HUD’s sampling methodology did not test the full payment cycle. Further, the associated sample testing and statistical estimation of improper payments could not be completed in time for the required annual reporting of improper payment estimates in the Agency Financial Report (AFR), normally issued in November. To fully address this recommendation, the sampling methodology should test the full payment cycle, and the associated sample testing and statistical estimation must be completed in time to be included in the AFR.
Implementation of this recommendation will result in HUD better safeguarding taxpayer dollars and decrease improper payments.
2020-OE-0003 | April 12, 2021
HUD Program Offices’ Policies and Approaches for Radon
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2020-OE-0003-05OpenClosed
Revise the current PIH radon policy to align with 24 CFR 50.3(i)(1) and 58.5(i)(2)(i).
- Status2020-OE-0003-06OpenClosed
Update the PIH radon policy to ensure that program activities comply with the departmentwide policy on radon testing and mitigation requirements.
2021-PH-0002 | March 29, 2021
Reimbursements Received Through Rent Credits From the General Services Administration
Chief Financial Officer
- Status2021-PH-0002-001-AOpenClosed
We recommend that HUD’s Chief Financial Officer investigate the facts surrounding the potential Antideficiency Act violation involving the $7,787,675 in rent credits and make a formal determination. If it is determined that a violation occurred, the Chief Financial Officer should develop corrective action plans or internal process improvements as necessary, take disciplinary actions as appropriate, and report the identified violations to the oversight authorities including the HUD Secretary, the President, OMB, Congress and the Comptroller General.
2019-OE-0003 | February 14, 2021
Contaminated Sites Pose Potential Health Risks to Residents at HUD-Funded Properties
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2019-OE-0003-03OpenClosed
Develop and implement a strategy to review PIH-funded properties with potential contamination to determine whether site contamination should be considered in future environmental reviews.
- Status2019-OE-0003-04OpenClosed
Monitor environmental reviews of PIH-funded properties with potential contamination.
2021-FO-0003 | December 04, 2020
Audit of HUD’s Fiscal Year 2020 Consolidated Financial Statements
Public and Indian Housing
- Status2021-FO-0003-001-MOpenClosed
Ensure that OCFO has the data it needs to record a reasonable PIH prepayment estimate related to supplemental pandemic funding in fiscal year 2021 and beyond if additional funding is provided.
Chief Financial Officer
- Status2021-FO-0003-001-AOpenClosed
Prepare a white paper regarding the accounting treatment for each type of funding disbursed under the HCVP, to include a comparison of the qualities the funding embodies against the qualities that are necessary for it to be considered a prepayment versus an expense according to generally accepted accounting principles. The Chief Financial Officer should work with PIH to gather the information necessary to complete this analysis and have PIH review it to ensure the accuracy of the program information used.