ROANOKE, Va. – An internal audit found spending, oversight and procurement problems tied to a gun violence intervention grant administered through the Roanoke Police Department’s RESET program.
A municipal audit released in February found spending tied to a $300,000 grant used for violence-prevention programs in Roanoke exceeded its authorized amount and revealed several administrative and procurement issues.
The audit reviewed the city’s Group Violence Intervention grant, funded through the Virginia Office of the Attorney General using federal pandemic relief money from the American Rescue Plan Act. The funds supported the city’s Rapid Engagement of Support in the Event of Trauma, or RESET, initiative, which works with community partners to help prevent gun violence and support at-risk youth.
According to the report, the grant totaled $300,000, but total spending reached $394,371, creating an overage of $94,371. Auditors concluded that spending “was not effectively controlled at the budget level,” and expenses continued to be charged to the grant months after it had already been fully spent.
The audit found that a software conversion to the city’s new Oracle Fusion financial system in July 2024 contributed to the issue. The grant was not initially included in the system migration, causing inaccurate financial information and weakening budget oversight.
Auditors also found problems with how some services were procured.
Two vendors were paid $23,987 and $17,125 through purchasing cards, even though they “should have been subject to a competitive procurement process because they provided on-going services that exceeded $10,000.”
The city also paid a vendor $62,638 for mentoring services without a contract in place, using dozens of decentralized purchase orders instead of a formal procurement process. Later, the same vendor was awarded a sole-source contract, but auditors said the justification documentation did not meet requirements under Virginia law or city purchasing policy.
The audit also reviewed invoices tied to mentoring services and found some documentation gaps. While case notes generally supported youth mentorship activities such as tutoring, job-search help and life-skills discussions, auditors identified instances of double-billing and missing approval signatures on some payments.
In addition, the report raised concerns about safety compliance in the mentoring program. Auditors said they could not verify whether background checks or driver eligibility screenings were completed for mentors because the vendor did not document those steps.
The RESET program, which coordinates volunteers and outreach workers responding to traumatic incidents and violent crime, is designed to support residents and connect at-risk youth with services and mentorship. The city has temporarily paused the mentorship program while steps are taken to bring it into compliance with policies and regulations.
Auditors noted that the vendor-based mentorship program is the focus of this audit report.
The report includes several action plans aimed at improving financial oversight, procurement practices and documentation related to the program.
You can read the full audit here.