Weatherization Program Ramping Up, Says It’s Secure From Fraud

The federally funded Weatherization Assistance Program is poised to dramatically ramp up the number of houses where it upgrades insulation and improves energy efficiency. In part that’s because if Tennessee uses up its allotted stimulus dollars before the program ends, it might pull down more federal money.

In a normal year, Tennessee’s funding to help weatherize homes totals around $5 million. This year, the state spent that amount just from July to November. And Human Services Commissioner Gina Lodge says it’s on track to soon ramp up further, now that workers and agencies are trained for the task. Lodge says two factors are driving that push:

“One, to get the money out there quickly and to get the jobs created right now that we need created, but also in the hopes as happened with a few of the other programs that if other states find that they aren’t able to spend their money, then the money will be redistributed, and we’d like to be a state that gets even more.”

Lodge notes the state can now spend more on each house it weatherizes, allowing for overhauls of entire heating and air-conditioning systems, in addition to extra insulation.

FRAUD

Earlier this year the lieutenant governor called the program a “recipe for disaster,” saying it was susceptible to fraud and abuse.

Commissioner Gina Lodge says under an older system spread across the state, the program would’ve been hard to monitor. But with roughly a hundred million stimulus dollars pouring through the weatherization effort, Lodge says extensive safeguards have been added.

For starters, she says the entire bidding process for renovating homes is posted publicly online.

“We have multiple layers of monitors who go out and look at the work that’s been done, look at the books, and that’s from our department. Then the comptroller’s office also will do audits. On top of this the federal government will come in and do them also, and they’ve already been here twice and have been very pleased with the way we have this structured.”

Lodge says as another safeguard, different workers evaluate homes before and after weatherization, which is carried out by a separate contractor. That way several different people review each job.

Earlier: Economist Urges Caution in Deciding Whether to Adopt Combined Reporting
Later: Comptroller Wants Help Against Stimulus Fraud