City Comptroller Scott Stringer has released an audit of the Department of Homeless Services following its involvement with Hurricane Sandy rehabilitation. It found that the agency lacked oversight of emergency contracts and paid large invoices on expired contracts, among other findings. Photo courtesy Scott Stringer
The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) wrongfully paid contractors for services that were not provided after Hurricane Sandy and failed to keep appropriate logs of site visits, an audit by city Comptroller Scott Stringer revealed.
Stringer said the agency came up short in overseeing contractors that were hired to provide emergency shelter as well as helping those in need apply for public housing or securing home repairs after Sandy displaced thousands of residents. After the storm, DHS signed 20 emergency contracts with different organizations to provide these services, totaling about $19 million. Stringer examined eight of the 20 contracts from October 2012 to November 2013 in his audit.
The audit found that the DHS lacked formal procedures for monitoring emergency contracts, paid invoices before investigating them, did not fully survey shelter clients and could not provide sufficient evidence that it provided the oversight it claims to have.
“Taxpayers deserve to know that city government isn’t going to make the same mistake twice when the next storm hits,” Stringer said in a statement. “By vigilantly monitoring operations and contractors, city agencies can ensure every tax dollar devoted to relief is spent prudently and efficiently, while also assuring that the city is reimbursed by the federal government for all eligible costs.”
Stringer released the audit – the first to look into Sandy’s aftermath – along with a Superstorm Sandy Oversight Unit task force with hopes of holding the government accountable to emergency aid moving forward, the comptroller’s office said.
In some instances, DHS failed to keep diaries, logs or other files proving the agency made site visits and fulfilled monitoring duties that were required by the city, according to the audit. DHS also paid an invoice worth $28,000 on an expired maintenance and cleaning contract to the vendor Women in Need, among other violations outline in the audit.
Without proof that guidelines were in place and followed, the DHS is at risk of not being reimbursed by FEMA for its services, Stringer said.
Thousands of residents in southern Queens either suffered severe water damage to their homes or were flooded out of them completely, leaving many homeless or forced to live amongst toxic mold. Many reported becoming sick from moldy, abandoned homes and grew increasingly frustrated by red tape and delayed responses by city agencies that were tasked with helping the devastated area rebuild. By investigating errors made by the DHS, Stringer said he believes the city will be better prepared for future storms.
In a letter to the comptroller’s office addressing each of the audit’s findings, DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor said the agency followed FEMA’s regulations for reimbursement and did provide oversight of contractors. But the agency still agreed to address Stringer’s suggestions, including minimum requirements for activity logs and periodic client satisfaction surveys.
This audit is the first of many that Stringer plans to release in coming months, including one of the city’s Build it Back program.
Looking ahead, the comptroller also outlined six suggestions for how the DHS can improve, including having clearly defined operating procedures, establishing minimum requirements for logging activities and making sure workers who certify invoices take necessary steps to verify that goods and services have been provided.
By Ashley Helms
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