Weatherization Program Continues Unbroken Streak of Failed Audits

More than $16,000 to install 30 windows in just one apartment; $2,200 for 12 light bulbs at a cost of $185 each, when the true expense was $1.85; and $1,500 in labor to install a $3.30 device on a single faucet.

Once again an audit has found questionable cost practices, although probably not as widespread as in previous reports, with the state Department of Community Affairs' weatherization program

The program, financed by federal stimulus funds as a way of promoting job growth, typically tries to lower energy bills for residents by installing insulation, sealing ducts, and replacing windows and doors, among other things.

But the program has come under intense scrutiny from the State Auditor on three previous occasions and from state lawmakers, both of whom have criticized lax oversight of spending and failure to document appropriate expenditures in three separate audits.

In New Jersey, total expenditures for the program were more than $100 million between 2009 and 2012. The DCA, in contrast to previous highly critical audits of the program, disputed many of the findings. The program originally aimed to weatherize 21,348 units at its outset.

“With DCA ending the program by weatherizing 22,419 units, the only logical conclusion to draw is that this program was a huge success,’’ wrote DCA Commissioner Richard Constable in a response to the audit.

The agency questioned some of its conclusions. For instance, the department argued it had disallowed the expenditure of more than $16,000 for installation of 30 windows in one apartment.

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