Federal Reports

This report assesses the extent to which the Mechanical department efficiently staffs its 12 preventative maintenance facilities. This report is our third in a series that examined how the company can reduce costs by addressing inefficiencies in maintenance operations staffing practices.Although the company has taken some positive steps to better manage the Mechanical department’s workforce, we found that it did not have a process to systematically analyze the workload at its preventative maintenance facilities and align its workforce to that requirement. At two facilities we analyzed, we found that better alignment of the workforce to the workload could save as much as $2.1 million in annual labor costs. Additionally, current labor agreements reduce the company’s staffing flexibility which creates inefficiencies and additional costs. For example, employees in particular crafts are prevented from doing anything more than incidental work in another craft, regardless of whether they are trained and qualified to do so. Finally, we found a potential safety issue in which some preventative maintenance employees were working 16 hours or more in a day, increasing the risk of fatigue-induced incidents.We recommended that the company implement a process to analyze the workforce at each preventative maintenance facility, identify opportunities to increase staffing flexibility among agreement employees, and analyze injury and work schedule data and assess whether to take additional risk-mitigation steps.

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements

The audit objectives were to determine whether program funds were managed in accordance with the ARC and Federal grant requirements

We audited the Lake View Towers Apartments’ Section 8 housing assistance payments program based on our analysis of risk factors related to multifamily projects in Region 5’s jurisdiction and the activities included in our fiscal year 2019 annual audit plan.  Our audit objective was to determine whether the management agent administered the project’s program in accordance with the owner’s contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its own requirements.The management agent did not always administer the project’s program in accordance with HUD’s and its own requirements.  Specifically, it did not always correctly calculate and support housing assistance payments for its program households, obtain and maintain required eligibility documentation, and maintain appropriate waiting lists for the project.  As a result, HUD inappropriately paid nearly $57,000 in ineligible and more than $399,000 in unsupported housing assistance.  If the management agent does not correct its tenant certification process, HUD could overpay more than $54,000 in housing assistance over the next year.  In addition, housing assistance may have been unjustly denied or delayed for eligible applicants on the project’s waiting lists.We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Chicago Office of Multifamily Housing Programs require the project owner to (1) reimburse HUD for the ineligible housing assistance payments; (2) reimburse the appropriate household for the underpaid housing assistance; (3) support or reimburse HUD for the unsupported housing assistance payments; (4) conduct criminal record background checks; (5) update its waiting lists to include applicable notations; and (6) implement adequate policies, procedures, and controls to address the issues cited in this report.

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