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The Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development will finally get an outside audit — eight months after the County Council requested a review of the troubled agency.

County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) announced on Monday that the county has signed a $64,802 contract with Virginia Tech University's Center for Housing Research to conduct an independent audit of the department. The review will be completed by May 31.

Baker's spokesman Scott Peterson said the administration believes the audit will move the county forward.

"The goal is that this audit will not just point out where the problems have been in the past but provide recommendations for the best path in the future," Peterson said.

As part of the audit, the Virginia Tech organization will submit a final report suggesting future strategies for the department. Peterson said the county selected the Center for Housing and Research out of three total bidders. The center submitted the lowest bid, Peterson said.

During the audit, the group will interview department leaders, managers, staff and key stakeholders. It will also provide an inventory on the existing department's structure and programs, establish metrics, identify comparable programs and prepare a final report with suggestions of possible implementation strategies.

Marilyn Cavell, an assistant director at the Center for Housing Research, said the audit team would analyze the department based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

"By doing that kind of research, we take a look at what's going on and try to provide understandable analysis and, in a final report, give suggestions to how things can be improved."

The council voted for the audit in April after the housing department came within 30 days of losing $2.8 million in federal grant money because it had failed to spend it by a required deadline. In 2009, the department rushed to distribute $5 million in grants as it faced another deadline and had to give back another $2 million for lack of action during two years.

On Nov. 12, federal agents alleged then-County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) accepted a $100,000 check in exchange for helping a developer receive federal grant money under the housing department's HOME Investor Partnerships program. Johnson and his wife, Councilwoman Leslie E. Johnson (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville, were arrested on charges of witness and evidence tampering.

A contract for the audit of the department, which has a budget of $80 million, was completed in late November. County auditor Howard Stone said it took months to select and finalize a deal with a firm, but he said the contract was further delayed because Jack Johnson had reservations about signing off on the audit.

"The Johnson administration wasn't too keen, so we backed off," Stone said, explaining that he was not given details about the concerns when the contract was ready several weeks ago. "I was just told that I would not get that processed."

Stone declined to say who told him to hold off. Johnson could not be reached for comment.

Peterson said Baker has been committed to immediately cleaning up the troubled department.

The department was under the management of James Johnson until Dec. 6, when Baker took office and replaced Johnson with Betty Hager Francis who will serve as the acting director. Francis' office on Tuesday deferred calls to Peterson.

News that the audit had not started surprised Cheryl Cort, director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization that criticized the housing department's performance in a report in October.

"Really? I had been told they were doing this months ago," Cort said.

dvalentine@gazette.net