Audit finds widespread compliance gaps in San Antonio home-improvement programs; committee accepts report
2025-01-14 | San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
The San Antonio Audit Committee on Jan. 14 accepted the City Auditor’s report AU 23-027, concluding that the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department’s home-improvement programs were not managed in accordance with NHSD’s internal policies and procedures.<br><br>The audit manager, Abigail Estevez of the City Auditor’s Office, told the committee that auditors reviewed 29 projects spanning NHSD’s major-repair, minor-repair and Under One Roof programs and found 27 with at least one instance of noncompliance. "Overall, our conclusion was that the home improvement programs were not managed in accordance with NHSD's internal policies and procedures," Estevez said.<br><br>The report identified specific weaknesses auditors said increase the risk of errors or improper payments. Examples cited included projects approved without required eligibility documentation (such as mortgage statements or homeowner-insurance proof), projects that proceeded before required approvals or restrictive covenants were filed, contractors lacking adequate insurance, change orders executed before required approvals and at least one instance where a project was paid in full before work began. The audit also found missing customer survey records, poorly supported performance measures reported in the budget book and excessive user access to participant data.<br><br>Veronica Garcia, director of NHSD, told the committee the department has taken steps to address the findings. "All of the corrective actions that we identified have been completed," Garcia said, and described reorganizing staff, updating policies and procedures, tightening fiscal and contract controls, working with the City Attorney’s Office on lien and change-order processes, retraining staff and restricting SharePoint access to reduce excessive user permissions.<br><br>Councilman Brian White, who represents District 10, repeatedly pressed on the scope and potential consequences of the findings. Quoting the audit executive summary, White said the report found NHSD’s programs created "an environment vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse." He asked whether auditors had identified any questionable costs; Abigail Estevez replied auditors did not identify questionable costs and emphasized the report’s focus on the need for stronger internal controls.<br><br>Auditors and NHSD officials also discussed timing for follow-up work. The City Auditor’s Office said it had already reviewed and cleaned up files the department volunteered for review and will perform a formal re-audit in early fiscal 2026 that will sample projects implemented after the corrective steps. The auditor’s office also said it conducted an initial review of more than 500 NHSD files and returned incomplete files for correction.<br><br>Committee members discussed next steps for oversight. Chair Villagran said the audit committee may form a subcommittee or hold further sessions to examine how departments scale policies and staffing when a large influx of funds occurs; NHSD noted that its workload increased substantially after a 2023 housing bond that provided $45 million in new funds.<br><br>The committee voted by voice to accept the auditor’s report. The vote was taken by voice; no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes.<br><br>The audit report and NHSD responses are expected to be monitored through the auditor’s follow-up work in fiscal 2026. The Audit Committee meeting adjourned at 10:49 a.m.
