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
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 16851 

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 a 

reclassification of four field 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 costbenefit analysis of its plan. 

Cost-Benefit Analysis 

A. Background 

HUD/OIG staffing is presently being 

reduced from a high average of around 

730 full time equivalents (FTEs) to a 

target level of approximately 620 FTEs, 

currently now at 650. 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, the crippled 

economy and the impact that the 

economy has had on the foreclosure of 

HUD FHA insured loans. The ongoing 

staff reductions and other unforeseen 

additional responsibilities have 

conspired to cause the HUD/OIG Office 

of Investigation to struggle to continue 

to properly and timely address baseline 

fraud, waste and abuse in HUD 

programs. HUD’s regional structure 

includes a Regional office in Denver, 

Colorado, and one of its four Housing 

Ownership Centers (HOCs) is located in 

Denver. HUD OIG works closely with 

the HOCs in indentifying trends and 

compiling data related to fraudulent 

practices against HUD programs. HUD 

OIG has traditionally had a Regional 

office in Denver, Colorado but closed it 

in the early 2000’s due to various 

problems with the office. Collocating 

with HUD will allow HUD OIG 

investigations 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. Additionally, 

the United States Attorney for Colorado 

as well as other western US Attorneys 

have expressed interest in expanding 

work relative to HUD Native American 

programs and having a Regional office 

in Denver, Colorado will facilitate that 

effort. Accordingly, HUD/OIG plans to 

reclassify its Denver, Colorado office to 

Regional office status, 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 

Investigation will reclassify its Denver, 

Colorado field office as a regional office, 

headquarters for HUD OIG Region 8. 

Region 8 will have geographic 

responsibility for the states of Colorado, 

Wyoming, Montana, Utah, North 

Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Oregon 

and Washington. As part of this 

reorganization Region 10, currently 

headquartered in Seattle, Washington, 

will become a field office of Region 8, 

and its former field offices in 

Washington and Oregon will become 

Region 8 field offices. The HUD/OIG 

Office of Audit will not participate in 

this reorganization and will remain as 

part of HUD OIG Region 7 with its 

Regional office located in Kansas City, 

Missouri. Additionally, the Office of 

Investigation’s headquarters 

organization will not be affected by this 

realignment. 

Like all HUD/OIG Office of 

Investigation regional offices, Region 8 

will be managed by a GS–15 1811 

Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC). The 

office currently has a GS–14 ASAC and 

5 GS–13 agents, all of whom will 

remain. The current GS15 SAC position 

in Seattle will be eliminated and will 

ultimately result in a reduction of one 

FTE. 

C. Costs Versus Benefits 

1. One-Time Costs 

(a) Personnel relocation costs It is not 

anticipated that there will be any 

personnel relocation costs associated 

with this reorganization. It is prudent to 

plan for potential relocations that may 

become necessary to fill vacancies and/ 

or back filling of positions. 

(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). The only costs here 

will be for equipping the new SAC 

office. All other offices already exist and 

are fully equipped. Additionally, the 

proposal does not contemplate the 

creation of new field offices or an 

increase in overall FTEs at this time. 

Thus, no purchase or movement of 

furniture or equipment is involved. 

(d) Space alteration costs (de 

minimus). Some offices may require 

slight space alterations and telephone 

changes to accommodate assigned staff 

and the new SAC. However, HUD/OIG 

estimates that any space alteration costs 

that result will be minimal. 

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 

Cost to realign current FTEs: The 

reclassification of the Denver field office 

to a regional office will require the 

creation of one SAC position at the GS– 

15 level. However, the elimination of a 

SAC position in Seattle by merging 

Region 10 into Region 8 will ultimately 

offset the addition of the GS 15 position 

in Denver. It is likely that the position 

will be filled with someone from the 

local commuting area so any additional 

cost involved will be limited to the pay 

differential between GS–14 and GS–15 

pay levels. Moreover, in light of Law 

Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) 

differentials payable to ASACs and 

SACs, combined with the curtailing 

effect that the overall GS15 step 10 

salary cap has on LEAP differentials 

payable to GS–15 SACs, it is believed 

that costs associated with the creation of 

the SAC positions will be negligible, if 

anything. No additional or 

supplemental funding is expected. All 

additional costs will be funded within 

the ordinary budgets. 

3. Dollar Savings Resulting From 

Elevation of Office 

Management travel costs: A necessary 

incident to having remote field offices is 

travel costs for supervisors to travel to 

the office to supervise/review staff and 

liaise with stake-holders. HUD/OIG 

believes that contracting the geographic 

footprint of Region 7—as is 

contemplated by this plan—will 

correspondingly reduce management 

travel for the SAC of Region 7 located 

Kansas City. Travel for the eventual 

SAC in Region 8 will be shorter and less 

expensive than the corresponding travel 

from Kansas City. The merger of Region 

10, with its regional office currently in 

Seattle, Washington, into Region 8, as 

noticed in a separate Federal Register 

notice, will further reduce travel for the 

Region 7 SAC. In light of the current 

volatile nature of energy and 

transportation costs, HUD/OIG is unable 

to accurately quantify such savings. 

D. Impact on Local Economies 

The planned reclassification of the 

Denver, Colorado office is not expected 

to have any impact on the local 

economy of Denver. The plan 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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
16852 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 56 / Thursday, March 22, 2012 / Notices 

staff to these large metropolitan areas. 

Thus, any impact on the local 

economies in terms of housing, schools, 

public services, taxes, employment, and 

traffic congestion will be insignificant. 

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 new region will receive 

greater management emphasis than 

prior to the reclassification. 

Management in the new region— 

because it will be less dispersed and 

remote—will be enabled to interact with 

HUD management and clients, the 

Office of the United States Attorney, 

and other law enforcement partners 

more frequently and in greater scope 

than is now possible. More interaction 

and attention translates into more 

availability and accessibility of higher 

quality services. Similarly, the footprint 

of HUD/OIG’s Region 7 will shrink, and 

the incumbent SAC will be empowered 

to redirect attention that he currently 

devotes to the new Region 8 to the city 

within Region 7 as redefined. Again, 

more attention translates into more 

availability and accessibility of higher 

quality services. 

Dated: March 13, 2012. 

David A. Montoya, 

Inspector General. 

[FR Doc. 2012–6964 Filed 3–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5627–N–01] 

Notice of Reclassification of Five 

Regional Offices to Investigative Field 

Offices: Seattle, WA; New Orleans, LA; 

Baltimore, MD; Tampa, FL; and Detroit, 

MI; Closure of Two Investigative Field 

Offices: Louisville, KY and 

Jacksonville, FL; and Closure of Two 

Sub-Field Offices: Long Island, NY; 

and Central Islip, NY 

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, 

United States Department of Housing 

and Urban Development (HUD/OIG). 

ACTION: Notice of reorganization: the 

reclassification of the Seattle, 

Washington; New Orleans, Louisiana; 

Baltimore, Maryland; Tampa, Florida; 

and Detroit, Michigan regional offices as 

field offices of investigation and the 

closing of the Louisville, Kentucky and 

Jacksonville, Florida, offices of 

investigations, the Long Island, New 

York, sub-field office of investigations 

and the Central Islip, New York, subfield office of investigations. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

that the HUD/OIG Office of 

Investigation plans to reclassify its 

Seattle, Washington; New Orleans, 

Louisiana; Baltimore, Maryland; Tampa, 

Florida; and Detroit, Michigan regional 

offices as field offices of investigation. 

Additionally, the following field offices 

will be closed: Louisville, Kentucky and 

Jacksonville, Florida; Long Island, New 

York (sub-field office); and Central Islip, 

New York (sub-field 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. Improve management control and 

effectiveness while improving the 

overall management structure; 

3. Redeploy resources to prevent and 

detect fraud in new program delivery of 

CPD, FHA and other HUD programs; 

4. Return to a more traditional 

regional alignment of HUD OIG regional 

offices and HUD regional offices. 

The HUD/OIG Office of Audit, to the 

extent that it maintains offices in these 

locations, 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 four regional 

offices. 

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 

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 a 

reclassification of four field 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 costbenefit 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 

FTE 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, the crippled economy 

and the impact that the economy has 

had on the foreclosure of HUD FHA 

insured loans. The staff reductions and 

unforeseen additional responsibilities 

have conspired to cause HUD/OIG 

Office of Investigation to struggle to 

continue to address baseline fraud, 

waste and abuse in HUD programs. 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 reclassify five 

regional offices to field offices and close 

three field 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 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES