The Housing Authority of the City of Macon-Bibb County, GA, Improperly Executed the HAP Contract for Vineville Christian Towers’ RAD Conversion

We audited Vineville Christian Towers’ (project) Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD) conversion in accordance with our annual audit plan. Our audit objective was to determine whether the project’s RAD conversion to the Section 8 Project-Based Voucher Program was completed in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) requirements; specifically, whether the Macon-Bibb County Housing Authority properly executed the housing assistance payments contract for the project’s RAD conversion. The Authority improperly executed a Section 8 Project-Based Voucher Program housing assistance payments (HAP) contract for 90 units. Specifically, the Authority did not ensure that (1) the tenant protection assistance was in place for all 90 tenants, and (2) only the units occupied at the time of contract execution were included on the contract. In addition, the Authority did not obtain information from HUD for properly issuing tenant protection assistance. This condition occurred because the Authority (1) lacked an understanding of retroactive RAD conversion type and was not familiar with the requirements for tenant protection assistance and (2) did not establish written procedures related to the RAD conversion and tenant protection assistance. As a result, the Authority improperly received more than $138,000 in administrative fees. Unless the Authority cancels the contract, we estimate that it will improperly provide nearly $257,000 over the next year for units improperly converted under RAD. We recommend that the Acting Director of HUD’s Atlanta, GA, Office of Public and Indian Housing require the Authority to (1) cancel the contract resulting from the RAD conversion, thereby putting nearly $257,000 to better use; (2) reimburse its Section 8 program more than $138,000 in associated administrative fees from non-Federal funds; (3) develop and implement procedures; and (4) provide training to its staff to help ensure compliance with program requirements.