A new report from a state agency shows that as evictions approached record highs in some areas of Oklahoma, a state partner was paid millions of dollars meant to help renters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd released a sweeping report Tuesday on $14 billion in state expenditures for fiscal year 2021, with most of the money coming from COVID relief measures. $376 million from the federal government was designated for a statewide pandemic rental assistance program, according to the report.
Byrd said her office flagged about $1.6 million in administrative fees from nonprofit Communities Foundation of Oklahoma in September 2022. CFO was tasked by Oklahoma’s Office of Management and Enterprise Services with handing out the federal Emergency Rental Assistance, or ERA, program funds. Byrd said though CFO’s $1.6 million in fees were unallowable under the terms of the grant, OMES didn’t do anything about the error.
“The state auditor’s office did alert the state of Oklahoma that charges were being charged to the grant in excess of what was allowed. The state failed to stop the overcharge of administrative costs, and that is what led to the increase for fiscal years ’22 and ’23,” Byrd told Public Radio Tulsa.
The total loss is now more than $8 million because Oklahoma didn’t correct the error. Byrd said if CFO keeps charging at its current rate, unallowable costs may increase to $15 million by the end of 2023.
CFO, which is located in Oklahoma City, didn’t immediately return a request for more information. On its website, the nonprofit says part of its mission is to “strategically distribute charitable funds” and that it has assisted “hundreds of efforts in more than 45 counties.”
Restore Hope Ministries was also selected by OMES to distribute ERA funds, but the auditor’s office said CFO is responsible for the findings in the audit.
In 2021, Tulsa nonprofit Housing Solutions estimated 3,316 Tulsans were evicted.
In 2016, Princeton University’s Eviction Lab listed Tulsa as 11th in the nation for evictions. In 2018, the lab says 32.5 evictions were filed per day, with almost 10% of Tulsa households threatened.
According to Byrd’s report, the average ERA award was $1,975, meaning more than 4,000 people could have potentially been helped with housing costs if the funds had been distributed.
OMES partially acknowledged the errors in Byrd’s report, saying it implemented a plan in 2021 and that it hired Eide Bailly, an accounting firm, to monitor both CFO and Restore Hope Ministries.
Byrd said her hope is that Oklahoma will manage grants better in the future.
“By bringing awareness to this audit, we’re saying, ‘Oklahoma, this is a great opportunity to make sure the individuals who are in charge of these grant programs have the proper training, they’re proficient in the guidelines and requirements, and that we take steps to not have to pay any funds back in the future.”
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
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