Audit 332226

Information of the Federal Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury CFDA No. 21.026 Homeowner Assistance Fund Criteria: Treasury established a number of requirements in this program to determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive mortgage assistance. To be an eligible household: must be the homeowners primary residence, they must currently occupy the residence, income must be below the applicable limit for the household, and experienced financial hardship due to the pandemic. During the year, a second round of assistance in the form of lien extinguishment was available to homeowners that participated in the mortgage assistance program. Condition: The eligibility determination is made based on a collection of information and documentation from the applicant. These files document their circumstances and determine the amount awarded. Context/Cause: We tested 53 households paid during the fiscal year. Of those 53, we noted 12 households with one or more exceptions, totaling 14 exceptions out of a total of 533 requirements tested and summarized as follows:  1 instance in which an initial occupancy statement was obtained with the application but occupancy was not confirmed prior to disbursement  5 instances in which income was not properly documented or the calculation of income by the underwriter was not correct  2 instances in which the a current mortgage statement was not obtained for the lien extinguishment underwriting process  6 instances in which satisfaction of the mortgage was not documented to confirm loan payoff after disbursement was made Questioned Costs: None Effect: The Authority was not in compliance with certain eligibility documentation requirements. Recommendation: We recommend the Authority strengthen its policies and procedures surrounding eligibility determination to ensure compliance with federal requirements. View of Responsible Officials: See Management’s review and Corrective Action Plan included at the end of the report.

Information of the Federal Program: U.S. Department of the Treasury CFDA No. 21.026 Homeowner Assistance Fund Criteria: Treasury established a number of requirements in this program to determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive mortgage assistance. To be an eligible household: must be the homeowners primary residence, they must currently occupy the residence, income must be below the applicable limit for the household, and experienced financial hardship due to the pandemic. During the year, a second round of assistance in the form of lien extinguishment was available to homeowners that participated in the mortgage assistance program. Condition: The eligibility determination is made based on a collection of information and documentation from the applicant. These files document their circumstances and determine the amount awarded. Context/Cause: We tested 53 households paid during the fiscal year. Of those 53, we noted 12 households with one or more exceptions, totaling 14 exceptions out of a total of 533 requirements tested and summarized as follows:  1 instance in which an initial occupancy statement was obtained with the application but occupancy was not confirmed prior to disbursement  5 instances in which income was not properly documented or the calculation of income by the underwriter was not correct  2 instances in which the a current mortgage statement was not obtained for the lien extinguishment underwriting process  6 instances in which satisfaction of the mortgage was not documented to confirm loan payoff after disbursement was made Questioned Costs: None Effect: The Authority was not in compliance with certain eligibility documentation requirements. Recommendation: We recommend the Authority strengthen its policies and procedures surrounding eligibility determination to ensure compliance with federal requirements. View of Responsible Officials: See Management’s review and Corrective Action Plan included at the end of the report.