[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16849-16850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6939]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5627-N-03]
Notice of Realignment/Merger of Five Regional Audit Offices:
Boston, MA Will Merge With New York, NY; and the Gulf Coast Region Will
Merge With Atlanta, GA and Fort Worth, TX
AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD/OIG).
ACTION: Notice of reorganization: realignment of Five Regional Audit
Offices: Boston, Massachusetts (Region 1) will merge with New York, New
York (Region 2); and The Gulf Coast Region (Region 11) will merge with
Atlanta, Georgia (Region 4) and Fort Worth, Texas (Region 6).
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the HUD/OIG Office of
Audit plans to merge/reclassify its Boston, Massachusetts (Region 1)
office with its New York, New York (Region 2) office; and merge its
Gulf Coast Region (Region 11) office with its Atlanta, Georgia (Region
4) office and Fort Worth, Texas (Region 6) office. The planned
reorganization is intended to:
1. Improve the alignment of limited audit resources, to promote
more efficient responses to HUD or Congressional requests involving
critical program issues;
2. Improve management control and effectiveness while improving the
overall management structure; and
3. Deploy resources to address systemic concerns within HUD.
The HUD/OIG Office of Investigations has announced its own realignment/
reorganization, which impacts region 11 as well. This notice also
includes a cost-benefit analysis supporting the merger of these five
audit regional offices into three audit regional offices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy W. McGinnis, Assistant Inspector
General for Audit, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
Seventh Street SW., Room 8274, Washington, DC 20410-4500, telephone
(202) 402-0364 (this is not a toll free number.) A telecommunication
device for hearing and speech-impaired persons (TTY) is available at
(800) 877-8339 (Federal Relay Services). (This is a toll free number.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 7(p) of the Department of Housing
and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(p)) provides that:
A plan for reorganization, of any regional, area, insuring, or
other field office of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development may take effect only upon the expiration of 90 days
after the publication in the Federal Register of a cost-benefit
analysis of the effect of the plan on the office involved.
The required cost-benefit analysis must include: (1) An estimate of
cost savings anticipated; (2) an estimate of the additional cost which
will result from the reorganization; (3) a discussion of the impact on
the local economy; and (4) an estimate of the effect of the
reorganization on the availability, accessibility, and quality of
services provided for recipients of those services.
Legislative history pertaining to section 7(p) indicates that not
all reorganizations are subject to the requirements of section 7(p).
Congress stated that ``[t]his amendment is not intended to [apply] to
or restrict the internal operations or organization of the Department
(such as the establishment of new or combination of existing
organization units within a field office, the duty stationing of
employees in various locations to provide on-site service, or the
establishment or closing, based on workload, of small, informal offices
such as valuation stations).'' (See House Conference Report No. 95-
1792, October 14, 1978 at 58.) Although HUD/OIG believes that the
legislative history of section 7(p) strongly suggests that the
legislation is inapplicable to merger of regional offices that will in
no way reduce the level of services provided to areas served by such
offices, HUD/OIG nonetheless voluntarily publishes the following cost-
benefit analysis of its plan.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
A. Background
Since 2002, HUD/OIG staffing has declined from an average high of
730 full time equivalents (FTEs) to a current level of 650 FTEs. HUD
OIG has a target level of 620 for the beginning of FY 2013.
Simultaneous with this constriction of staff resources, HUD/OIG is
contending with the onslaught of mortgage fraud issues and foreclosure
issues associated with the collapse of the mortgage industry and the
sub-prime market, examining and evaluating the implementation,
execution and oversight of HUD's HOME program, the crippled economy and
the impact that the economy has had on the foreclosure of HUD FHA
insured loans. To more efficiently and effectively address HUD/OIG's
core mission and at the same time become better prepared to respond to
inevitable but unpredictable events, HUD/OIG plans to merge five
regional audit offices into three regional audit offices, 90 days
following the publication of this notice.
B. Description of Proposed Changes
90 days following the publication of this notice, the HUD/OIG
Office of Audit will merge its Region 1 Boston, Massachusetts office
with its Region 2 New York, New York office. This one combined region
can more effectively and efficiently serve the geographic area which it
will cover while ultimately reducing costs. The New York office shall
remain a regional office, the Boston office and its former field
offices will become field offices of Region 2. HUD/OIG will also merge
its Region 11 Gulf Coast office with its Region 4 Atlanta, Georgia
office and its Region 6 Fort Worth, Texas office. The Gulf Coast
regional staff located in Mississippi will be assigned to the Atlanta,
Georgia region while its New Orleans, Louisiana based staff will be
assigned to region 6 in Ft. Worth, Texas. Region 11, which was created
in response to the natural disasters that struck this area, will no
longer exist as a separate region, and its states of responsibility
will revert back to the regions that historically oversaw them. All
other existing regional and field office jurisdictional boundaries will
be unchanged. HUD/OIG Office of
[[Page 16850]]
Investigations is undergoing a similar reorganization the details of
which are being filed in the Federal Register at the same time as this
notice. Additionally, the Office of Audit's headquarters organization
will not be affected by this realignment.
Like all HUD/OIG Office of Audit regional offices, the merged
regions are managed by a GS-15 Regional Inspector General for Audit
(RIGA). Those RIGAs now assigned to regions that are being merged into
other regions will be assigned as Deputy RIGAs (with no reduction in
grade) to the appropriate regional office. Of note, there will be some
attrition in this realignment and some positions will therefore be
eliminated.
C. Costs Versus Benefits
1. One-Time Costs
(a) Personnel relocation cost ($0). It is anticipated that there
may be one personnel relocation associated with this reorganization.
(b) Severance or unemployment compensation costs ($0). No severance
costs are associated with this initiative as it does not contemplate
the termination of any staff.
(c) Purchase/movement of furniture and equipment ($0). Each of the
offices that are being evaluated for merger already exist and are fully
equipped. Additionally, the proposal does not contemplate the creation
of new field offices or an increase in overall FTEs. Thus, no purchase
or movement of furniture or equipment is involved.
(c) Space alteration costs (de minimus). Some offices may require
space alterations and telephone changes to accommodate any future
changes of assigned staff. However, HUD/OIG estimates that any space
alteration costs that result will be minimal because HUD/OIG has
implemented and encourages teleworking. Further, hoteling is an option
available to HUD/OIG.
No additional or supplemental funding is expected to the current
appropriated budget. All costs will be maintained within the current
budget.
2. Permanent Increases in Operating Costs
The realignment will not result in any increase in operating costs.
No additional or supplemental funding is expected.
3. Dollar Savings Resulting From Realignment of Offices
Personnel Cost Savings. The realignment alone will ultimately
result in the elimination of 2 GS 15 positions, with an annual savings
in excess of $300,000.00 per year.
D. Impact on Local Economies
The planned merger of the five regional audit offices into three
regional audit offices is not expected to have any impact on the local
economies of Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; Atlanta,
Georgia; Fort Worth, Texas; or the Gulf Coast region. The merger does
not involve terminating existing real estate leases prior to their
expiration date, nor does it involve leasing addition real estate.
Moreover, the plan does not contemplate appreciable relocation of staff
to these metropolitan areas. Thus, any impact on the local economies in
terms of housing, schools, public services, taxes, employment, and
traffic congestion will be non-existent or insignificant at most.
E. Effect of the Reclassifications on the Availability, Accessibility,
and Quality of Services Provided for Recipients of Those Services
The plan was designed to improve the quality and level of service
provided to stakeholders and affected clients nationwide. The regions
will receive greater management emphasis than prior to the
reclassification. Management will be enabled to interact with HUD
management and clients more frequently and in greater scope than is now
possible. More interaction and attention translates into more
availability and accessibility of higher quality services.
Dated: March 13, 2012.
David A. Montoya,
Inspector General.
[FR Doc. 2012-6939 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
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