Open Recommendations

We recommend that the Director of HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to provide documentation to support that the $1,166,000 public facilities and improvements procurement contract price was fair and reasonable and that the sole-source method used was justified. Any costs determined not to be fair and reasonable should be reimbursed from non-Federal funds.

We recommend that the Director of HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to implement procedures to ensure that all HUD-funded procurement is performed in accordance with regulations at 24 CFR 85.36, which require that sealed bid procurements be adequately advertised and involve at least two bids and that independent estimates be documented before bids or proposals are received.

We recommend that the Director of HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to strengthen procedures over subrecipient monitoring to ensure that onsite visits are conducted for all CDBG subrecipients annually as specified in the agreements and that monitoring efforts are adequately tracked.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to provide documentation to adequately support that $70,538 disbursed and $150,000 obligated were for eligible costs. Any costs determined to be ineligible should be reimbursed from non-Federal funds.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to strengthen monitoring procedures for CDBG-funded subgrantees to ensure compliance with program requirements.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to reprogram unexpended funds of $2,516 on a subgrantee agreement that expired June 30, 2015, for use by other eligible CDBG activities so that these funds are put to better use.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to spend program income of $113,733 on eligible CDBG activities before drawing down additional CDBG entitlement funds, thus ensuring that these funds are put to better use.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to implement procedures to ensure that program income received by subgrantees is properly reported in HUD's integrated Disbursement and Information System and spent before funds are drawn down from the U.S. Treasury.

We recommend that the Director of the HUD's Buffalo Office of Community Planning and Development instruct City officials to strengthen subgrant procedures to ensure that all required documents are received, explanations are obtained when prior performance does not meet goals, and subgrants are executed in a timely manner.

Submit a plan for how it will proceed with respect to the multipurpose facility project, including a schedule that HUD can track to ensure its completion. HUD must reevaluate the feasibility of the activity and determine the eligibility of the $8,111,304 already invested. (Footnote 4: Total investments of $8,232,388 were adjusted to account for $109,084 questioned in recommendation 2A and $12,000 in recommendation 2B.) If HUD determines that the activity has been canceled or is not feasible, the Municipality must commit any unused loan proceeds for future loan repayments.

Submit a plan for how it will proceed with respect to the municipal cemetery project, including a schedule that HUD can track to ensure its completion. HUD must reevaluate the feasibility of the activity and determine the eligibility of the $1,454,801 already invested. If HUD determines that the activity has been canceled or is not feasible, the Municipality must commit any unused loan proceeds for future loan repayments.

Provide supporting documentation showing that it complied with all environmental requirements. If the Municipality does not provide evidence that it complied with all environmental requirements, HUD must initiate appropriate sanctions under 24 CFR 58.77(d)(1)(v) for noncompliance.

Develop and implement a financial management system in accordance with HUD requirements to ensure that program funds can be traced to a level, which ensures that such funds have not been used in violation of the restrictions and prohibitions of applicable statutes.

Contact all other HUD program offices to determine whether any other programs authorize or are aware of grantees holding funds in advance of their immediate disbursement needs and determine financial statement impact on and compliance with Treasury cash management requirements of any found.

Reimburse FHA borrowers $25,700 for fees that were not customary or reasonable and $46,510 in discount fees that did not represent their intended purpose.

Reimburse $13,726 to FHA borrowers for the fees that were not customary or reasonable.

Comply with its Management Agent Handbook requirements that stipulate HUD must perform management reviews of the management agent's central office activities as well as regular onsite reviews of functions carried out at the projects. These central office reviews should be performed at least once every 18 months.

Issue guidance to help participating jurisdictions accurately report the amount of match contributed and consumed.

Require the 10 jurisdictions that overstated their excess match balances to remove the overstated amounts from their reported HOME match carry-forward balances.

We recommend that HUD's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing require the lenders to support that the repairs to the properties associated with the 32 loans without evidence of permits complied with local code or reimburse HUD $792,837 for the escrow repair funds.

We recommend that HUD's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing require the lenders to support that the repairs to the properties associated with the six loans were not structural repairs or indemnify HUD for the four active loans with a total estimated loss of $222,073 and reimburse HUD for the actual loss of $83,322 incurred on the sale of two properties associated with FHA case numbers 052-4308836 and 034-8239100.

We recommend that HUD's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing require the lenders to support that the borrower for FHA case number 451-1165810 was not reimbursed for the cost of labor or indemnify the loan with an estimated loss amount of $83,715, based on the loss severity rate of 50 percent of the unpaid principal balance of $167,429 as of January 29, 2015.

Support that the repair conditions and comments indicated in the direct endorsement underwriter form, form HUD-54114, were satisfied for FHA case number 501-8198149. If the repair conditions and comments were not properly addressed, the lenders should indemnify the loan with an estimated loss amount of $39,367, based on the loss severity rate of 50 percent of the unpaid principal balance of $78,733 as of January 29, 2015.

Reimburse FHA borrowers $376,102 for the unallowable, misrepresented discount fees and $7,110 for fees that were not customary or reasonable.

Develop and implement written policies and procedures with an emphasis on increased controls toward the monitoring, tracking, underwriting, and evaluating of the Section 184 program. Implementing these controls would reduce the current high level of risk in the program and result in potentially $76,967,618 in funds to be put to better use (see appendix A).