[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]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P