HUD Demands $750K+ Federal Funds Reimbursement From Sloppy Housing Authority Over Crappy Recordkeeping That Fails To Support Agency's Activities In Administering Federal Housing Programs

In Steubenville, Ohio, the Herald-Star reports:

• The Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority must reimburse the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development $751,349 for unsupported procurement and contracting activities.
  
  JMHA Executive Director Debbie Bailey said [] she was able to find documents that resolved $213,000 cited in a HUD Office of the Inspector General report that initially recommended the public housing agency pay the federal department $964,000.
  
  “I received a letter from HUD this week saying we must pay the money back by June 30. We are now working on how we will take care of this issue,” Bailey said.
  
  She made her comments during the monthly board of commissioners meeting that saw several JMHA residents complain about a lack of security at the public housing apartments in Steubenville.
  
  “We have no funds budgeted for security at this point,” Bailey told public housing residents at the meeting.
  
  According to the audit that was released in August, “The authority failed to maintain adequate documentation to support its procurements and ensure there were no real or apparent conflicts of interest in its contracting process. Additionally it failed to achieve the expected savings on its energy improvements. These weaknesses occurred because the authority lacked adequate procedures and controls to ensure it complied with HUD’s and its own procurement requirements and a sufficient understanding of HUD’s requirements for the administration of its energy contract.”
  
  The HUD Office of Inspector General said eight of 11 authority-procured contracts reviewed by the federal auditors were missing pertinent procurement documentation.
  
  The audit report also noted a board member “had a business and personal relationship with at least one of the authority’s contractors.”

For more, see JMHA owes HUD $751,349, auditors say.