Finding 517186 (2024-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding

Requirement

Questioned Costs

Year

2024

Accepted

2024-12-30

Audit: 335133

Organization: Housing Authority of the City of Garfield (NJ)

Auditor: Polcari & Company CPAS

AI Summary

Core Issue: A contract for carpentry services was awarded below the required prevailing wage rates.
Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 24CFR sections 905 and DOL regulations was not met, including missing HUD-11 forms and certified payroll reports.
Recommended Follow-Up: Ensure all contracts adhere to prevailing wage laws and implement a system to track required documentation for compliance.

Finding Text

We selected 9 contracts for the Capital fund Program. One of the contracts selected, although required to adhere to the prevailing wage rates and benefits, accepted a bid for general carpentry services that contained a hourly rate less than prevailing wages for the locality the Authority is located in. The Authority did not follow the compliance requirements of 24CFR sections 905 and Department of Labor (DOL) (40 USC 3141,3144,3146,3147). Additionally, they could not provide the required HUD-11 form "Record of Employee Interview" and certified payroll report related to the work performed by the contractor.

Corrective Action Plan

The Authority’s legal counsel provided the following statement in response to the finding: “I am in receipt of the proposed Corrective Action Plan relating to the proposed finding that the GHA accepted a bid for general carpentry services that contained an hourly rate less than prevailing wages for the locality that the Authority is located in. In this regard, the bid contained an hourly rate of $54.54. Prior to accepting the bid, the GHA obtained the prevailing wage rate for Bergen County Carpentry as published by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. I attach the published determination hereto, which reveals a prevailing rate of $54.54. As such, the GHA disputes your alleged finding “

Other Findings in this Audit

1093628 2024-001

Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN	Program Name	Expenditures
14.872	Public Housing Capital Fund	$1.52M
14.850	Public Housing Operating Fund	$1.24M