We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to support the cost reasonableness or repay its program from non-Federal funds $58,873 paid to its surveyor contractor for the sole-sourced contract without an adequate cost analysis.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to maintain program files with all required documentation for each activity.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to implement an internal audit function that satisfies program requirements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to revise its monitoring policy to include the role of the internal auditor once implemented, and finalize and fully implement or revise its fraud, waste, and abuse detection policy to reflect current procedures.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to update its Web site to include current quarterly performance, budget, and progress reports.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s New Orleans Office of Community Planning and Development require the Parish to obtain technical assistance concerning the disaster recovery program requirements, including related Federal Register requirements. Specifically, the technical assistance should include guidance on how to satisfy the requirement regarding maintaining an internal audit function and Web site maintenance.

Provide documentation to show that prices paid for products and services totaling $1,423,262 for three activities were fair and reasonable or repay its program from non-Federal funds for any amount that it cannot support.

Provide documentation to show that costs totaling $942,636 for activity 7099 were for employees’ actual time spent benefiting the activity or repay its program from non-Federal funds for any amount that it cannot support.

Provide documentation to show that costs totaling $100,000 for activity 6865 benefited the activity or repay its program from non-Federal funds for any amount that it cannot support.

Provide documentation to show that seven activities with costs totaling $2,266,543 were exempt or categorically excluded from environmental reviews or repay its program from non-Federal funds for any amount that it cannot support (excluding any amount repaid as a result of recommendations 1A, 1B, and 1C).

Revise its policies and procedures to address compliance with applicable procurement regulations requiring independent cost estimates before receiving bids or proposals.

Train its staff on requirements for documenting costs funded by multiple funding sources.

Develop and implement controls to ensure that subrecipients comply with requirements for documenting costs funded by multiple funding sources.

Determine whether it has complied with environmental review requirements for all activities since October 2010 and provide a copy of its determination to HUD. If it did not comply, either provide the necessary support for the activities or repay its program from non-Federal funds for any activity costs it cannot support.

Develop and implement controls to ensure that it complies with environmental review requirements.

Review accomplishment data that it reported in IDIS for open and completed activities to ensure that accomplishments were reported accurately.

Train its staff on reporting accomplishments in IDIS and develop and implement policies and procedures for supervisory review to ensure accuracy.

Include compliance with environmental review requirements in its project-specific reviews in its next periodic monitoring of the City’s Block Grant program.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Newark, NJ, Office of Community Planning and Development instruct County officials to reimburse $3,536,974 to the County’ HOME program line of credit for assistance spent on the four activities that were partially terminated or noncompliant with program requirements.

We recommend that the Director of HUD’s Newark, NJ, Office of Community Planning and Development instruct County officials to strengthen the County’s administrative controls to ensure that its HOME program is reimbursed for assistance spent on terminated or noncompliant activities.