Preparing for
CDBG Monitoring
NCDA Winter Meeting
February 1, 2013
The mail arrives –
and you have a letter
from your friends
at HUD
Preparing for HUD Monitoring
Some of those letters are good news
Dear Mayor Bragg:
I am pleased to inform you of your
allocations for the Office of Community Planning
and Development’s (CPD’s) formula programs …
Preparing for HUD Monitoring
Dear Mayor Bragg:
I am pleased to transmit to you the
approval of the City of Murfreesboro’s Five Year
Consolidated Plan and Consolidated Action Plan
…
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And then there’s the day you get the
letter – and we all get it sooner or later:
“HUD monitors will be visiting
your city soon.”
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You have two choices:
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ACCEPTANCE
And since this is really your only
choice … make the best of it.
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An unfortunate reality –
not all monitoring visits
are created equal.
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If you’re lucky, your monitor is
your friend, coming in good
faith to help you make sure
you’re following the rules.
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Or not …
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In any case,
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Your notification letter will tell you
what activities and areas the
monitor wants to see.
Document, document,
document
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Do it right and you, too,
may qualify to become …
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Some areas of HUD interest you might be
seeing in the next year:
 CDBG-R
activities and closeout
 Timeliness
 Allocation of staff time to project delivery
– are you keeping timesheets
 National Objective documentation
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If you’re lucky, you can ask
the expert what you need to
do to get ready. This is what
my expert told me …
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Assign a lead person for
the monitoring.
This person should be present for
any staff discussions with the
monitor.
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Make sure you have a copy of
the approved application and
supporting funding approval
documents.
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Make sure your files are
arranged in an orderly fashion
and include basic information
to determine the eligibility of
each activity.
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Our rehab
checklist organizes
the file from the
first call to
recording the
Deed of Trust
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
Review any applicable monitoring
guidance and forms from your funding
agency.
Monitoring Handbook and exhibits:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/library/mo
nitoring/handbook.cfm
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Get your staff ready for the visit.
Discuss the monitoring visit and
HUD’s expectations with each
applicable staff person.
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Be active during the
monitoring visit
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Your letter will tell you what the monitor
wants to see ….
but while on-site a monitor may choose to
look at other areas or activities.
Try to be sure all your files are in order.
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Be proactive …
Are you aware of a potential problem area?
Develop and implement a plan of action
Notify the monitor upfront of the problem
and what you are doing about it.
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Is that the same thing as SelfDeportation?
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Have a designated location
for the monitors …
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And allow the monitors private time to
review documentation.
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Sometimes on-site clarification can avoid
problems which might otherwise result in a
concern or a finding.
Have pertinent staff available to answer
questions.
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The Exit Conference
Insist on a preliminary report on how the
monitoring went and what needs to be
addressed.
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HUD has a form …
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 Ask
for a copy.
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Act quickly to address any
concerns and findings … today is
not too soon.
The policy in Tennessee is to clear
as many findings in the field as
possible.
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And when the monitors leave…
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