Oregon auditors find pandemic rental assistance wasn’t accurately tracked

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An official audit found Oregon Housing and Community Services doled out an estimated $426 million in emergency rental assistance over the pandemic, but the department failed to properly distribute the funds. The Audits Division shared its review of OHCS on Thursday. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program was first launched during the pandemic after the federal government allocated money to the many Americans who were struggling to pay rent. In September 2020, auditors reported that 176,000 renter households in Oregon...