GOSHEN – A lack of written policy combined with shoddy record keeping and an apparent improper use of credit cards by staff were among the findings in a long-awaited audit of the Goshen Housing Authority.

The audit covered three years beginning with 2008 and recaps financial problems that led to the office being revamped under new leadership more than a year ago and bailed out by the city of Goshen earlier this year.

Pamela Simpson, an independent auditor from Decatur, Ill., did not explicitly suggest any criminal wrong doing during her 90-minute presentation to agency board members and other city leaders, but the housing authority will likely seek a federal investigation, said Wayne Kramer, vice president of the Housing Authority board of commissioners, after Thursday’s presentation.

“We need some guidance from some source as to whether or not these improprieties rise to the level of being a violation of federal law that is prosecutable,” Kramer said.

Simpson released audit reports for 2008, 2009 and 2010 and used the 2010 report to highlight the depth of problems, much of which she attributed to a “lack of internal controls,” meaning the office operated without standard written policies.

The office staff also apparently lacked the ability to keep good financial records.

“Garbage in, garbage out,” Simpson said after her presentation.

“You can generate a check with a lot of accounting software, but to get it coded to the right account takes a little bit of knowledge and expertise,” Simpson said. “And I believe that was lacking.”

Among the findings revealed in the report:

•  Over a series of years, the office accumulated $333,000 in debt in administrative costs. That debt was part of  a roughly $700,000 deficit that led the U.S. Housing and Urban Development to seek back hundreds of thousands of dollars from the agency earlier this year. As a result of the shortfall, the office used federal housing money intended for low-income families to operate the office.

• A check for $6,000 was written to former executive director Bob Brenneman and then disguised using improper accounting methods.

• Several staff were issued credit cards by the agency and allowed to make personal purchases with a promise to repay. Exactly how much those expenses totaled and how much was ever repaid was not indicated in the report.

• The agency arranged a $6,000 loan from a contractor who worked for the agency. The money was repaid, but the agreement represents a conflict of interest, Simpson said.

• Records for tracking vacation time for staff for a two-year period disappeared.

The report also stated that in many cases, the eligibility status of Section 8 housing clients was unclear because of the lack of record keeping. In some instances, heads of households were initially listed as disabled even though other reports and tenant applications failed to mention a disability.

The audit included a test sample of  24 Section 8 occupants and found that “most” included incomplete documentation.

Efforts to transform the office to a paperless operation by scanning records failed and contributed to problems, Simpson said.

Kramer and Amber Wolfe, president of the board of commissioners, both said the report confirms what they had suspected.

Brenneman could not be reached for comment. He and an office manager were forced out of the agency in 2010.

Simpson speculated that much of the problems associated with the agency evolved as the agency grew larger, Simpson said.

The use of credit cards for personal use appeared to be one of the more bothersome findings. But tracking down details of those purchases has proven difficult so far.

Efforts to get the records have been hampered because the staff names appear first on the credit card, said Simpson, who chided the casual office policy. “I don’t believe there should be any company that allows their people to charge things to the company and then hope they repay them later,” Simpson said.

Simpson has recommended the agency pursue a forensic audit that could trace any possible criminal wrong-doing, but Kramer and others are leery of incurring more costs for another audit.

The agency, which received a $571,050 bailout from the city in February, is not in a position to pay for another audit, officials said.

“It’s a paradox of sorts because you really don’t want to spend any more money, but yet we do owe the taxpayers a good explanation,” said city councilman Jim McKee who was one of four council members who attended the meeting.

Kramer said he believes the agency should turn to the local Congressional office for assistance in seeking a federal investigation, but that’s complicated by the fact the city of Goshen will shift from the 3rd District to the 2nd District beginning at the end of the year.

The Indiana State Police has also been investigating the office and Kramer said the board will seek an update from police on the findings.