Finding 980587 (2023-001)

2023-001 - Eligibility: Housing Voucher Cluster (FALN #14.871) Criteria HUD regulations of Annual Income (24 CFR § 5.609), Eligible Family Status (24 CFR § 5.403), Citizenship and Eligible Immigrant Status (24 CFR § 5.506) and Disclosure of Social Security Numbers (24 CFR § 5.216) require the collection and retention of certain tenant information to document the eligibility determination for each recipient. Condition The results of our testing indicated that certain items were unable to be located in the file, as follows: • In twenty instances, the utility allowance amount does not agree with HUD Form 50058. • In one instance, social security verification was missing from the tenant file. • In one instance, income verification form not found in file. Questioned Costs Not determinable. Context We selected a sample of 60 files for review. Our sample was a statistically valid sample. Effect or Possible Effect The tenant file documentation was incomplete. Cause The cause is unknown. Identification as a Repeat Finding This finding is a repeat finding (see prior year finding number: 2022-001). Recommendation We recommend that Park City improve its internal processes to ensure tenant files contain the required documentation. Park City's Response Park City has contracted with an outside firm to manage, staff and run the Housing Choice Voucher program. In the twenty instances where the utility allowance amount does not agree with HUD Form 50058, there are sixteen cases where the utility allowance does not agree with the HUD Form 50058 reviewed and four cases where the incorrect utility allowance year was used in HUD Form 50058. In the sixteen cases where the utility allowance does not agree with HUD Form 50058 reviewed, it appears that the incorrect structure type was used in the calculation. The contractor has established structure type definitions and distributed them to staff. The contractor has conducted an internal training about how to determine structure type to ensure the accuracy of the utility allowance. In the four cases where the incorrect utility allowance year was used, these transactions were completed prior to the establishment of the 2023 utility allowances. The transactions should have been corrected after they were approved. The contractor will establish a listing of all applicable transactions completed with an effective date of November 1, 2024. Any transactions submitted prior to the approval date of the utility allowances will be reviewed and corrected.