Finding 28794 (2022-001)

2022-001 - Emergency Rental Assistance Program Condition: Three rental assistance payments out of a sample of forty did not agree with the Rental Assistance Agreements for the recipient in the SimpliGov Platform. Two of the recipients had an additional month paid. The other has a minor ($10) difference). In discussion with the County, they indicated that if a Rental Assistance Agreement modification is necessary, it must be amended by the Organization to include the changes. In all three of these instances, the amounts paid by the Organization were approved by County personnel overseeing the program. Criteria: The Organization should have procedures in place to ensure all required documentation is maintained for all Federal funds expended. Cause: The cause of the missing documentation has not been determined. Effect: Rental Assistance payments did not have all required documentation to support federal dollars expended. Recommendation: We recommend the Organization review its current procedures over expending federal funds to ensure that all required documentation required to support federal expenditures is retained for periods required by the program. We also recommend a post program review be implemented specifically to review program documentation at the conclusion of the program. We recommend any changes be strictly followed going forward and that all parties involved in federal programs be trained on the documentation requirements of the program. This review should be systematic and fully documented in order to substantiate the steps taken. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: We are in agreement with the finding. We will review our current procedures to ensure all documentation related to the support of federal funds is maintained in the appropriate file.