An audit of Pittsburgh’s use of COVID-era relief funds conducted by City Controller Rachael Heisler’s office found that the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority failed to properly document how it used some of the money it was given.

The report, released Wednesday afternoon, identified three URA projects that received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money — Avenues of Hope, the Streeteries Outdoor Dining Program, and the Broadway Avenue Development project — as areas of concern where documentation was lacking.

The audit examined ARPA usage particularly during the 2023 and 2024 calendar years. All ARPA funds must be spent by the end of 2026.

In an interview, Heisler told WESA she didn’t believe the city would need to refund any of the money in question, and said she had “no indication” that the errors were more than “really sloppy paperwork.”

But she criticized the URA for not doing a better job of planning and documenting ARPA spending.

“I don’t think public expectations are unreasonable to expect that an entity that receives a considerable amount of public funding can tell the public where those dollars go,” she said. “What I hope happens is that leadership at the URA recognizes the findings of this audit…and focuses more directly and intentionally on compliance with documentation expectations.”

Improper documentation

Avenues of Hope funded grants to improve seven historically Black neighborhood commercial corridors in the city. The Streeteries program funneled money to infrastructure that allowed outdoor dining in business areas to prevent the spread of COVID. The Broadway Avenue project aimed to stabilize and refurbish properties along Beechview’s Broadway Avenue that were purchased by Latino advocacy group Casa San Jose.

Heisler’s report noted that auditors were told that some documentation for the Avenues of Hope and Streeteries programs was unavailable due to the lack of a standardized record-keeping system.

“URA project managers documented projects differently, and information was lost when some project managers left the authority,” the report said.

A total of roughly $600,000 in spending lacked proper documentation in the Avenues of Hope and Streeteries programs. The report also said that the URA did not provide “adequate clarification” on the invoices related to the Broadway Avenue project, and said the agency was “unresponsive to auditors’ request for a meeting” to provide more clarity.

Next steps

Heisler’s report advised that the URA should develop a standardized document retention system, ensure contracts and agreements are reviewed before distributing money, and provide resources and support to make sure staff are ready to handle requests for information.

The need for such policies stems in part from staffing turnover at the agency, which Heisler said “has proven to be a problem in the past.”

Still, she added, “just because someone leaves [the] URA, doesn’t mean that they can’t figure out as an organization how to retain those records, and how to make sure that we can account for every dollar that they’ve received.”

She said she hopes Mayor Corey O’Connor’s administration “recognizes these problems.”

“We trust the URA to do really big and important things in the city, and paperwork compliance is a minor part of that, but it needs to be a part that’s focused on and intentionally improved moving forward,” Heisler said.

In a response included with the report, URA Chief Financial Officer Damara Carter said the organization agreed with the recommendations to improve documentation. She said the agency will work on its recordkeeping practices, and review any outstanding documentation needed for 2025 and 2026.

“We are committed to addressing the findings and recommendations,” the response said, adding that it was “engaged in continuously improving our practices to ensure transparency and efficiency in our operations.”