We audited Prince George’s County, MD’s administration of its HOME Investment Partnerships Program as part of our annual audit plan. Our objective was to determine whether the County properly administered its Program by ensuring that its community housing development organizations were eligible and complied with Program requirements, providing rental, home ownership, and rehabilitation assistance in accordance with requirements and implementing sufficient controls to ensure the appropriate use of Program funds.

We found that the County generally did not administer its Program in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements and guidelines. It did not ensure that three of its four active housing development organizations were eligible and operating in compliance with Program requirements. It also improperly committed Program funds and could not show that it followed requirements related to Program funds it provided for rental, downpayment and rehabilitation assistance. These problems occurred because County staff overlooked Program requirements and County officials mismanaged the Program. Also, the County failed to perform monitoring according to Program requirements. As a result, it made approximately $2.4 million in ineligible disbursements and could not properly account for $1.3 million in disbursements. The County also had about $4.7 million in excess, improperly committed, or underused Program funds.

We recommended that the Director of HUD’s Washington, DC, Office of Community Planning and Development require the County to (1) repay the Program $2.4 million it spent on ineligible expenses, (2) provide support for $1.3 million in expenses or repay the unsupported amount to the Program, (3) reprogram $4.7 million in Program funds as appropriate for eligible Program activities and to improve its administration of the Program, and (4) implement procedures to ensure that Program funds are disbursed and used in compliance with applicable requirements.