The State - News from Dec. 3, 1985

The state Department of Veterans Affairs should adopt standards similar to those of private lending institutions to end delays processing Cal-Vet loans, state Auditor General Thomas Hayes said. Auditors who reviewed a statewide random sample of 304 Cal-Vet loan applications found an average of 84 days was required to process them, compared to 32 days typically needed by private lenders, he reported. They also found in a random sample of 93 properties repossessed by the department that veterans were behind in their payments up to 19 months before action was taken to cancel the loan. Private lenders initiate such action within an average of 16 days. The state’s delays were blamed on personnel shortages and faulty monitoring systems. Shirley Chilton, secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, said steps have been taken to limit the processing of Cal-Vet loan applications to a uniform 90-day maximum, to implement a statewide monitoring system and to quickly fill staffing vacancies.