Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor announced his office’s release of its annual audit to ensure compliance with the terms of federal grants received by Allegheny County.

The audit covered 14 grant programs with expenditures of $203.1 million out of a total of $358.6 million spent by the County in federal grants. This covers 57 percent of the expenditures, far exceeding the statutory requirement to audit not less than 40 percent of federal funds awarded.

While many government entities utilize outside auditing firms to complete their single audits, the Controller’s office saved more than $100,000 in taxpayer funds by performing the audit in-house.

The audit’s findings recommending corrective action involved $1,838,971 in expenditures.

Among findings relating to the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD)

• $500,928 in reported program expenditures for a violence prevention program were actually incurred in 2022.
• $141,576 in reported program expenditures for a substance abuse and mental/behavioral health program were actually incurred in 2022, and, in addition, $113,551 of those expenditures were payroll costs not properly supported by timesheets or other documentation that would have demonstrated the proper allocation of the costs.

Among findings related to the Department of Economic Development (ACED):

• $861,443 in program income related to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding administered by the Department of Economic Development (ACED) was not properly reported to the federal government. In addition, $41,969 of 2023 program income was reported in the wrong period.
• $48,650 in salaries and related fringe benefits were charged to CDBG for hours not worked on CDBG programs.
• $72,088 in salaries and related fringe benefits for CDBG programs were recorded for 2024 instead of 2023.

Among findings related to the Department of Human Services (DHS):

• A contracted housing provider under a federal Continuum of Care grant program for homelessness supplied documentation of rent reasonableness for only 5 out of 25 units, and the documentation had dates from 2021 or earlier. That same provider, under a different project, only supplied documentation for 21 of 40 rental units, and there was only documentation for 2024 dates that approximated the date of the request for information.
• No support was provided in connection with 13 out of 60 program provider invoices tested related to the Continuum of Care program for matching expenditures totaling $63,580 claimed by program providers.

Corrective action will allow these departments to maintain compliance and retain the grants.

“As our County enters a period of fiscal challenges including the exhaustion of federal emergency aid, ensuring these important funding streams are used properly and maintained is critical,” O’Connor said. “My office is pleased to conduct this important annual service, which both saves taxpayer dollars and ensures compliance with the requirements for continued receipt of these funds.”

View the Single Audit Report for Year Ended December 31, 2023.