Trinity County Grand Jury
• 2015-2016
Cor2015-2016-001 Money, Money Nowhere…. the Bucks Stop Here!! Approved 06/02/2016
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 7 findings
F1
The Loan Grants accounting spreadsheet is unorganized, poorly documented and in great need of management oversight.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The County should do an immediate audit of the CDBG portfolio accounting, as well as the Housing Rehab loan portfolios. The Grant Department should take advantage of online accounting spreadsheets.
F2
There is NO servicing of the loans in the CDBG portfolio other than the posting of payments, mailing out Certificates of Occupancy and Payment Coupon Books. There are no default notifications or collection efforts on the part of the County, resulting in the write off of much needed money for support services.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The County must immediately begin servicing these loans and bringing them up to date by sending out notices of late payments due, opening up communication with borrowers and, if need be, beginning foreclosure as stipulated in loan agreements. Income received would more than cover administrative costs. It should be mandatory to report the status of these loans monthly to the BOS.
F3
The HRLC has no clear method to make loan decisions.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
A check list or risk assessment policy should be created to ensure the equitable decision making for future loans or amendments. Both HUD and CDBG websites, as well as written procedure manuals, must be used as required by the programs.
F4
The HRLC has violated the Brown Act by holding email/phone call meetings as well as conference call meetings.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Both the BOS and general public should review the documentation and refer violations to the District Attorney for prosecution, if warranted.
F5
The BOS and the HRLC failed to provide the required special “Public Meetings” regarding grant funds.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Going forward, the BOS shall ensure transparency of all County business and adhere to Federal and State laws to avoid possible prosecution.
F6
The HRLC meeting minutes indicate new Committee members should be installed with each new open Grant. Current members have been in place for at least the past ten (10) years.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
With the exception of the County Auditor and a rotating member of the BOS, current committee members should be removed immediately and replacements found among private citizens sought via an advertisement in the Trinity Journal.
F7
Due to its inability to properly service the outstanding loans, the Grant Department has suspended applications for new housing/business programs since 2010.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The BOS should make re-establishment and reorganization of the Grant Department a priority. They must budget appropriately to attract and retain qualified employees with lending, collections and grant writing experience. Additionally, in order to encourage local citizens to apply, if otherwise qualified applicants lack a particular skill, training should be provided to ensure the Department complies with state and federal lending laws, as well as HUD requirements.
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Trinity County Auditor-Controller
Elected County Office
Trinity County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office