Federal Reports

We audited the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority’s management of its Commodore Perry Homes development. We selected the Authority based on congressional interest. Half of the development’s buildings were demolished more than 20 years ago, and the majority of the remaining buildings and units have been vacant for years without redevelopment activity. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Authority properly managed its Commodore Perry Homes development. Our work focused on the period beginning in July 2013.The Authority did not properly manage the Commodore Perry Homes development to address longstanding redevelopment needs and health and safety issues. While the Authority had made various redevelopment plans for the property since 2013, none fully materialized, and all dwelling units in the development are now vacant. Further, the Authority did not adequately address urgent, ongoing health and safety issues with the vacant development. These issues occurred for various reasons, including that the Authority did not consistently prioritize taking action at its Commodore Perry Homes development, lacked a cohesive redevelopment strategy over time, and lacked sufficient processes to address recurring issues. While HUD and the Authority had recently taken steps toward developing a plan forward, no redevelopment had occurred at the site. As a result, fewer low-rent units were available to families in need, the vacant development continued to deteriorate, and the surrounding residents and local community continued to be exposed to significant blight and health and safety issues.We recommend that HUD determine (1) whether the development represents an imminent threat to public safety and activities to control the situation could be taken before the full environmental review process, and (2) which environmental review process would be most beneficial to ensure that it is completed as soon as possible. Further, we recommend that HUD continue to provide training and technical assistance to the Authority and require it to (1) identify and address urgent health and safety issues; (2) develop and implement a plan to routinely identify and address recurring urgent health and safety issues; and (3) develop and implement plans for the remaining public housing units at the development and for the original property related to the units converted during previous redevelopment efforts. Last, if the Authority does not follow through on its asset repositioning plans, misses deadlines, or the plan is no longer feasible, we recommend that HUD consider and use available remedies.

Transmittal of the Final Report Assessing the Federal Trade Commission’s Compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Redacted for public release)

Our objective was to assess the management of Postal Service employees in absence without leave (AWOL) status to identify opportunities to timely address employees in AWOL status and manage cost.

We audited the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) oversight of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refunds based on a hotline complaint alleging that HUD was trying to make it difficult for claimants to obtain refunds or discourage them from pursuing the refunds, which are due to eligible homeowners from the unearned portion of the upfront mortgage insurance premium paid. Our audit found the allegations from the hotline complaint submitted to the HUD Office of Inspector General had some merit. Also, HUD did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that refunds were appropriately tracked, monitored, and issued. Specifically, HUD (1) did not ensure that the homeowner information for at least 23,579 loans with unpaid refunds totaling approximately $15.8 million was included in its public listing of unpaid refunds, (2) did not adequately track the status of refunds, (3) lacked policies and procedures for various stages of the refund process, (4) did not fully implement procedures it developed requiring additional documents from homeowners, and (5) did not follow the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This condition occurred because HUD did not emphasize reviewing or monitoring the refund process to identify weaknesses and focused primarily on sending refund applications and issuing refunds to homeowners who returned the applications. As a result, HUD could not ensure that it implemented a consistent refund process, and homeowners and third-party tracers were not able to search for all refunds HUD owed, which may have reduced the chance for homeowners for at least 23,579 loans to obtain approximately $15.8 million in refunds. We recommended that the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance and Budget (1) develop and implement written policies and procedures and controls for the refund process to address the deficiencies identified, (2) develop, and implement policies and procedures for locating homeowners, a standard timeframe for mailing refund applications, and verifying the termination date, (3) research, develop, and implement policies and procedures to reduce the number of refunds that have remained unclaimed for an extended period, (4) develop and implement controls for the designation of legal representation for applicants, (5) ensure that the requirements that were developed for additional documents for identification are fully implemented, and (6) obtain approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act for the insert document mailed with the refund application and the Tracer Found Case form.