Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 16849 

APPENDIX A—Continued 

Recipient State Amount 

Training & Development Associates, Inc ................................................................................................................... NC ............... 3,000,000 

W. Frank Newton, Inc ................................................................................................................................................ GA ............... 500,000 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................... ..................... 20,000,000 

[FR Doc. 2012–6937 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

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). 

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 costbenefit 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 subprime 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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
16850 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 

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 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5627–N–02] 

Notice of Reclassification of One 

Investigative Field Office to Regional 

Office: Denver, CO 

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, 

United States Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD/OIG). 

ACTION: Notice of reorganization: the 

reclassification of the Denver, Colorado 

field office of investigation as a regional 

office of investigation. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the HUD/OIG Office of 

Investigation plans to reclassify its 

Denver, Colorado field office as a 

regional office. The planned 

reorganization is intended to: 

1. Improve the alignment of limited 

investigative resources, to promote more 

efficient responses to HUD or 

Congressional requests involving critical 

program issues; 

2. Redeploy resources to prevent and 

detect fraud in new program delivery of 

CPD, FHA and other HUD programs; 

and 

3. Improve management control and 

effectiveness, and reduce travel costs of 

management by reducing region size. 

4. Return to the traditional Regional 

alignment of HUD OIG Regional offices 

and HUD Regional offices. 

The HUD/OIG Office of Audit, to the 

extent that it maintains a field office in 

this location, has determined that based 

upon the different nature of its 

responsibilities it does not need to 

reorganize. This notice also includes a 

cost-benefit analysis supporting the 

reclassification of the office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

McCarty, Assistant Inspector General for 

Investigations, Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 

Street SW., Room 8274, Washington, DC 

20410–4500, telephone 202–708–0390 

(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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES