Management's views: When Amistad was notified by the City of El Paso about the error in January of 2022, management immediately started addressing the concern and made various steps to ensure solutions and best practices were being implemented. The auditor has a copy of the timeline and all steps th...
Management's views: When Amistad was notified by the City of El Paso about the error in January of 2022, management immediately started addressing the concern and made various steps to ensure solutions and best practices were being implemented. The auditor has a copy of the timeline and all steps that were taken. Amistad was able to recover $876,464, from all utility companies, the City approved the revisions to the application, and there was no negative impact to the agency. Amistad pledged to assist all customers that were impacted. Proposed corrective action: In regard to the corrective action plan, the process to address the issue started in January of 2022. A detailed timeline and corrective action plan were provided to SBNG. Amistad made several changes immediately such as identify ing and separating homeowners from renters, modified the application, added the Eligibility Verification Checklist and included a section for the Supervisor to review. Based on the feedback from the Audit, Amistad will continue to improve the process of reviewing new grant contracts so we can identify gray areas of compliance from the very beginning. For each new grant, management will make sure experienced members of the staff will evaluate the design of the program's procedures before the program rolls out. Also, for eligibility screening, we will continue to have a dual review of participant files to assist with identifying inconsistencies on the application. The $1,386.92 that was identified as an exception has been identified as ERA II funds. The City of El Paso has approved Amistad to use the $1,386.92, for the utility assistance program to assist renters. Anticipated correction date: As stated earlier, the corrective action plan started in January of 2022. Staff have received multiple trainings and will continue to receive trainings regarding best practices and contracts, along with implementation of programs. The recommendations that the auditor has provided have already been in process and will continue to be addressed through training and quality assurance checks. In regard to the one exception noted, the City of El Paso has approved Amistad to use the $ 1,386.92, for the utility assistance program to assist renters during FY2023. Responsible Official: Andrea Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer.