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Grand Rapids Veterans Home audited for member assessment fees

Posted at 11:24 AM, Jun 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-14 15:12:34-04

LANSING, Mich. – A performance audit of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans shows some confusion over member assessments, which has resulted in a net loss of nearly $600,000.

The Office of the Auditor General released the report Friday.

In one of five findings in the report, the OAG found that as of February 2018, the home’s financial software showed 239 current and former members of the home have past-due balances totaling $1.1 million. Two hundred other current and former members had overpaid assessments by $451,000.

The assessments are a fee charged to members of the home who do not have a 70% to 100% service-connected disability. The assessment is based on the member’s financial circumstances.

The audit says personnel at the home acknowledged a lack of staff and technical knowledge of a new software system were the primary factors in the discrepancies.

The new system was added after an audit in 2016 showed the staff at the home used a “cumbersome manual process to track past due member assessments.”