Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine internal controls over selected Authority financial operations for the period January 1, 2011, to November 30, 2012.

Background

The Amsterdam Housing Authority is located in the City of Amsterdam in Montgomery County. The Authority was established pursuant to Section 428 of the Public Housing Law to provide low-rent housing for qualified individuals in accordance with relevant provisions of State Public Housing Law, and the rules and regulations prescribed by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Authority’s 2012 fiscal year operating expenditures totaled approximately $3.6 million. The Board of Commissioners is comprised of seven Commissioners: five appointed by the City Mayor and two elected by the tenants. These costs were funded mainly by rental income from tenants and subsidies from HUD.

Key Findings

• The Board does not audit claims and has not designated a claims auditor to perform this function. Instead, the Executive Director audits the claims, including payments made for the reimbursement of his own travel costs. Our review of claims did not identify significant discrepancies.
• The Authority has not been collecting the annual management service fees as stipulated in the contract with Rivercrest Development Corporation (RDC). As of August 31, 2011, RDC owed $255,861 in cumulative service fees to the Authority. While RDC made a payment of $221,442 to the Authority on September 14, 2011, as of December 31, 2012, it had not made additional payments and still owed an outstanding balance of $118,520.

Key Recommendations

• Perform a deliberate and thorough audit of claims prior to payment or designate someone independent of the purchasing process as a claims auditor to perform this function.
• Closely monitor and make every effort to collect the outstanding management service fees owed to it by RDC.