Housing Authority of the City of Salisbury, NC

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Federal Program: Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Assistance Listing (ALN): 14.195 Award Period: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 Compliance Requirement: Eligibility Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control Over Compliance, Other MattersCriteria: Uniform Guidance requires non-federal entities to establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards and to maintain records that adequately support compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and award terms (2 CFR 200.303 and 2 CFR 200.302). In addition, the HUD Handbook 4350.3, Section 7-2, requires owners/agents to process interim certifications when tenant income changes and to adjust assistance accordingly. Statement of Condition: During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, we identified one tenant file where a change in income was not properly calculated, and the HUD Form 50059 was not adjusted and the necessary repayment agreement executed. We noted three other files that had missing required eligibility documents or were not retained in accordance with HUD recordkeeping requirements. Context: The population size is 465 units which are eligible for Section 8 Assistance Payments. A sample of forty tenant files totaling $320,352 of rental assistance were tested to determine if the tenant files were in accordance with eligibility compliance requirements. Of the forty tenant files, one tenant file tested contained an incorrect income calculation that was not corrected through a corrected HUD Form 50059 and related repayment agreement. By extrapolating our identified error rate on tenant files tested that were incorrectly calculated (0.95%) over the total population of HUD Section 8 rental assistance payments for the year ended June 30, 2025 of $2,719,677; $25,941 of rental assistance could be noncompliant based on the above error rate. Questioned Cost: $25,941 Cause: Personnel turnover resulted in the missed adjustment. Effect: An incorrect amount of rental assistance was requested from HUD Section 8 funds. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that management implement proper training and cross-training for staff to ensure accurate calculation of rental assistance and timely completion of interim certifications whenever required. Additionally, we recommend providing a refresher training to staff on HUD Section 8 documentation standards. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.