National Finance Center is a refugee too

USDA's National Finance Center was based in New Orleans. It has shut down and moved to Philadelphia for the duration. More info on the USDA main site but the NFC's own site is perhaps unsurprisingly not accessible. The NFC staff did finish the August payroll before pulling out and taking the latest data tapes with them.

From a 1999 GAO report:

The National Finance Center develops and operates administrative and financial systems, including payroll/personnel, administrative payments, accounts receivable, property management, and accounting systems for both USDA and more than 60 other federal organizations, including GAO, under cross-servicing or franchising agreements.

So multifamily finance people may or may not have to do with these folks directly, but their federal contacts very probably will, especially those who have personal retirement funds in the federal Thrift Savings Plan.

That GAO report, incidentally, criticized the center for "risk of fraud, misuse, and improper disclosure." The possibility of inundation was not mentioned therein. However earlier this year NFC begain preparing a move to Kansas City due in part to hurricane dangers.

[UPDATE: a posted message from Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi to HUD employees includes reassurances that HUD's payroll was processed before the hurricane hit. However, it provides a number for HUD staff to call if they do not receive expected pay deposits.]