State & Local Reports

This report provides the results of our evaluation of the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s (LWC) Unemployment Insurance program (State UI) and federally funded COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment assistance programs (Federal UI). The purpose of this report was to identify potential overpayments or improper unemployment benefit payments LWC made to claimants. Overall, we found that LWC made approximately $2.9 million in payments that potentially violated unemployment benefit program rules outlined in federal and/or state law, including payments to claimants enrolled in multiple programs at the same time, payments higher than the maximum benefit amount, and duplicate payments.

This audit examined whether the Green Communities Division ensured that municipalities applying for green community designation met all of the required criteria, submitted their required annual reports, grant funding distributed through DOER’s Green Communities Designation and Grant Program was used for its intended purposes. The audit examined the period of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020.

The audit examined the Office of the Commissioner of Probation’s oversight of its electronic monitoring program for probationers and access to juvenile probation records by police. Although the audit found no deficiencies in these systems, it did identify areas where OCP could improve information technology (IT) procedures. The audit examined July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2020.

The Office of the Inspector General is an independent agency that prevents and detects abuse of public funds and promotes transparency in state government. Our audit found the office was conducting cybersecurity awareness training for its staff as required by the state.

The Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has concluded its investigation into an allegation that misconduct occurred in connection with the procurement of holiday lighting and displays for the City of Fort Lauderdale. We substantiated the allegation. The OIG investigation uncovered that, without the city’s knowledge or authorization, CRA Coordinator Thomasina Turner-Diggs agreed in writing on behalf of the city to pay South Florida Lighting Team, LLC, doing business as (d/b/a) Miami Christmas Lights (MCL) $51,450.50 for holiday display lighting services for the city and CRA’s 2016 Light Up Sistrunk event. At the same time, MCL’s sales representative M. Randy Meyerson, who worked on commission, fabricated two higher quotes, purportedly from two competing vendors but in actuality vendors related to MCL, for Ms. Turner-Diggs to use in processing the procurement. He did this with her knowledge, in her presence, and on her office computer. Approximately six weeks later, in an effort to maintain control of the procurement and circumvent the city’s formal, sealed bid process that was triggered when a city purchase was estimated to exceed $25,000.00, Ms. Turner-Diggs directed Mr. Meyerson to split MCL’s quote into two, smaller quotes. She then had the CRA process a requisition for the city to purchase the holiday lighting services from MCL for $22,950.00, submitting one of the broken down quotes in that amount, along with the two fabricated quotes from purportedly competing vendors. Ms. Turner-Diggs’s acts constituted state criminal misconduct in the form of bid tampering, a second degree felony; criminal use of public records, a third-degree felony; and falsifying records, a first degree misdemeanor.

The purpose of this performance audit report was to assess the effectiveness of the Unemployment Insurance Agency's actions to establish federally complaint claimant eligibility criteria for the PUA program. We ultimately concluded the their actions were not effective as the agency established incorrect criteria for the PUA program and failed to take timely or appropriate corrective action when notified of deficiencies by the Department of Labor

The overall objective of this report was to see if the City effectively managed the distribution of economic recovery funds. The City created several programs using federal and local funding to provide economic relief to residents and organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs included providing financial assistance to Austin renters, small businesses, artists, and others. We found the City effectively managed the distribution of these economic relief funds. The Economic Development Department appears to have provided funding timely to eligible residents and organizations. For the City’s emergency rental assistance program, the Housing and Planning Department made improvements over time to be more accessible to the community and better align with best practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to Multnomah County. We conducted this audit to support transparent and accountable government operations during this unprecedented time. This report details what the county spent pandemic funding on, which provider organizations received pandemic funding from the county, and whether funds were distributed in alignment with the county’s stated commitment to leading with race. In this audit, we found that county management sought to balance the need to get resources out to the community quickly with also maintaining effective policies and procedures to help manage the county’s spending of pandemic-related relief funds. We found several areas where the county managed policies and procedures well; we also found some areas for improvement