East St. Tammany Events Center Generally Followed Regulations for Spending FEMA Public Assistance Funds

We audited Public Assistance grant funds awarded to the East St. Tammany Events Center (Center) in Slidell, Louisiana, (Public Assistance Identification Number 103-USUFP-00). Our audit objective was to determine whether the Center accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (Louisiana), a FEMA grantee, awarded the Center $3.7 million ($2.8 million after insurance reductions) for damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina, which occurred on August 29, 2005. The award provided 100 percent funding for four large and nine small projects. 1 The audit covered the period August 29, 2005, through July 31, 2014, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a review of all projects, or 100 percent of the total award (see Exhibit, Schedule of Projects Audited). As of our cutoff date, the Center had claimed $2.7 million and had completed all projects.