Finding 1169876 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-01-21
Audit: 383033
Organization: City of Concord (NC)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City failed to ensure proper eligibility determinations for housing assistance, leading to potential benefits for ineligible participants.
  • Impacted Requirements: Internal controls under 2 CFR 200 and 24 CFR Part 5 Subpart F were not adequately implemented, resulting in incomplete documentation for applicants.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Review tenant files to confirm accurate calculations and ensure all necessary documentation is collected before approving benefits.

Finding Text

Material Weakness, Eligibility. Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200, management should have an adequate system of internal control procedures in place to ensure that applicants have all required documentation in their file. In accordance with 24 CFR Part 5 Subpart F, the City must maintain documentation to support tenant eligibility. Condition: The City did not follow procedures to ensure the proper eligibility determinations were made and documented. Context: Of the 6,168 housing assistance payments during the current year valued at $5,286,995, we examined 60 (valued at $54,964) and determined that 6 (10% valued at $5,441) applicants did not have properly calculated resources. Upon further review and recalculation, the six applicants were deemed eligible. Effect: Participants could receive benefits for which they are not eligible. Cause: Weakness in implementation of controls over eligibility procedures. Questioned Cost: None. This finding represents an internal control issue; therefore, questioned costs are not applicable. Recommendation: Tenant files should be reviewed to verify that calculations are accurate, and all required documentation has been obtained before approving benefits. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The City agrees with this finding. Please refer to the Corrective Action Plan section of this report.

Corrective Action Plan

Corrective Action: The Public Housing Authority (PHA) will strengthen eligibility determination procedures for the Housing Choice Voucher Program by implementing the following measures: 1. Policy Reinforcement: Review and update, if necessary, the Administrative Plan to explicitly outline required eligibility documentation and verification steps. 2. Staff Training: Conduct training sessions for HCV Specialists on verifying income, assets, and household composition. Staff to begin using HUD’s CPD calculator to calculate income. 3. Quality Control Review: Implement a quarterly supervisory review, by the Housing Manager, of a random 10% sample of tenant files to ensure accuracy in income calculation and documentation. 4. File Checklist: Implement file checklists in each file to ensure all items are collected correctly and available for compliance review. 5. Software Updates: Review and select a new software to assist with income item collection. Also implement the use of DocuSign to obtain signatures.

Categories

Eligibility HUD Housing Programs Material Weakness Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1169877 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1169878 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
20.507 FEDERAL TRANSIT FORMULA GRANTS $4.02M
14.850 PUBLIC HOUSING OPERATING FUND $1.10M
20.106 AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT PROGRAMS, AND COVID-19 AIRPORTS PROGRAMS $1.02M
97.036 DISASTER GRANTS - PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS) $366,272
14.871 SECTION 8 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS $271,582
15.916 OUTDOOR RECREATION ACQUISITION, DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING $257,914
20.526 BUSES AND BUS FACILITIES FORMULA, COMPETITIVE, AND LOW OR NO EMISSIONS PROGRAMS $239,588
20.513 ENHANCED MOBILITY OF SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES $181,782
14.218 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS/ENTITLEMENT GRANTS $177,773
81.128 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (EECBG) $150,822
14.239 HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM $121,337
20.505 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND STATE AND NON-METROPOLITAN PLANNING AND RESEARCH $94,782
97.137 STATE AND LOCAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM TRIBAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM $62,180
16.753 CONGRESSIONALLY RECOMMENDED AWARDS $49,819
16.710 PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY POLICING GRANTS $46,740
14.896 FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM $34,733
14.872 PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND $27,875
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $22,066
14.251 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING, AND MISCELLANEOUS GRANTS $14,524
16.922 EQUITABLE SHARING PROGRAM $10,000
20.205 HIGHWAY PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION $8,900
16.607 BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM $3,306