OSA Weekly Update - 1/19/2024

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. Available: Fire State Aid Reporting

3. Available: County TIF Information Form

4. Avoiding Pitfall: Phantom Vendors

5. Job Openings

6. Upcoming Deadlines

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

We’re hiring! Over the next few weeks and months, you will continue to see a series of new job postings from our office. Our staff serves people like you, so you know the work is important and rewarding.

We are currently hiring:

All job postings are available on the OSA website. Please share with your network!

2. Available: Fire State Aid Reporting

Form FA-1 is now available on the Minnesota Department of Revenue (DOR)’s website and must be submitted to the DOR by March 15, 2024, to avoid a reduction in fire state aid. A Fire Service Areas report is also posted at the above link, with information on the documentation that the DOR needs to confirm any fire department service area changes. Instructions for completing the form and a list of forms received by the DOR are also provided.

3. Available: County TIF Information Form

The County TIF Information Form is now available and is due from counties by April 1, 2024. The form captures information for 2023 regarding a county's TIF administrative activities, distributions of tax increment, and transfers of the TIF enforcement deduction. Please refer to emailed instructions (sent 1/16/24) on accessing the form in SAFES.

If you are responsible for reporting in your county and did not receive an email, please contact our office at TIF@osa.state.mn.us.

4. Avoiding Pitfall: Phantom Vendors

One method of fraud involves payments to fictitious companies for goods never delivered or services never provided. To protect against this, public entities need procedures in place to determine whether new vendors that are added to their accounts payable system are legitimate.

The ability to set up new vendors on the accounts payable system should be limited to those individuals with a logical need for this function. When new vendors are added to the system, the vendors should be reviewed by someone outside the accounts payable system. The outside reviewer should verify that the new vendor is legitimate. Finally, the vendor list should be reviewed periodically, and unused vendors should be removed from the system.

The full Avoiding Pitfall is available on the OSA website.

5. Job Openings

Office and Administrative Specialist, Senior

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has an opening for a Legal and Special Investigations Administrative Specialist in the St. Paul office. This position provides skilled support services for Legal and Special Investigations staff.

The job posting will close on January 25, 2024.

Office and Administrative Specialist, Intermediate

The OSA Government Information Division (GID) has an opening for a Government Information Administrative Specialist in the St. Paul office. The Government Information Division (GID) collects and analyzes local government financial data, which is assembled in regular reports provided to the Legislature and the public. This position provides skilled support services for GID in the formatting, completion, release, and publication of reports as well as other support services.

The job posting will close on January 26, 2024.

Chief Information Officer

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is hiring a Chief Information Officer (CIO). The CIO ensures that the OSA has modern, secure, and accessible technology. They are responsible for officewide planning, implementation, and supervision of all office technology needs. The CIO also works with OSA leadership to represent the office on technology issues at the Minnesota Legislature. This position is based out of our St. Paul office and may be hybrid.

The job posting will close on February 1, 2024.

Director of Standards and Procedures

The OSA Audit Practice Division performs external financial and compliance audits of local governments and is seeking applicants with a high level of technical expertise to support quality control as part of our Standards and Procedures team. The Director of Standards and Procedures is a hybrid position based in St. Paul. This position is responsible for providing oversight to ensure that the audits of local governments are performed in accordance with audit industry standards, the OSA’s quality control standards, and appropriate regulatory requirements.

The job posting will close on February 8, 2024.

6. Upcoming Deadlines

 

2024 Summary City and County Budget Form by January 31, 2024

The 2024 Summary City and County Budget Form is now available through SAFES.

The form is due by January 31, 2024. You will need a SAFES User ID and Password to access the Form. If you need a SAFES User ID and Password, please send an email to SAFES@osa.state.mn.us with your name, title, entity, public mailing address, email, and phone number.

Instructions on completing the form are located on the OSA website.

2023 Lobbying Costs Report by January 31, 2024

The 2023 lobbying costs reporting forms are available for both local governments and local government associations. The forms may be found in SAFES.

Instructions are available on the OSA website:

If you have questions or need assistance completing the form, please contact John Jernberg at 651-297-3678 or John.Jernberg@osa.state.mn.us.

2023 Law Enforcement Agency Asset Forfeiture Report by January 31, 2024

Please remember to report all forfeitures with a 2023 final disposition to the Office of the State Auditor by January 31, 2024. Final disposition is when an action has been taken on the property (i.e., vehicle is sold, cash is distributed, property is returned to owner, etc.).

Reporting must be done using the online reporting tool available in SAFES.

Instructions for the Forfeiture Incident Reporting form are available on the OSA website.

If your agency had no forfeitures with a 2023 final disposition, you will still need to login to SAFES, select the Forms tab, then the 2023 tab, and select the button labeled "I have not disposed or forfeited any property in 2023” by January 31, 2024. Entities with forfeitures to report for the year 2023 should NOT check this box.

If you have not used SAFES in the past and need a username and password, please send your contact information including name, title, entity mailing address, and phone number to SAFES@osa.state.mn.us.

If you have questions or need assistance completing the form, please contact Christy John at 651-297-3681 or Christy.John@osa.state.mn.us.

2023 Annual Forfeiture Expenditures Report by February 28, 2024

Law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities, please remember to report expenditure of forfeited property proceeds, including proceeds received through state and federal forfeiture law to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) by February 28, 2024.

Instructions for the Forfeiture Expenditures form may be found on the OSA website.

Reporting must be done using the online reporting tool available in SAFES.

If you have not used SAFES in the past and need a username and password, please send your contact information including name, title, entity mailing address, and phone number to SAFES@osa.state.mn.us.

If you have questions or need assistance completing the form, please contact Christy John at 651-297-3681 or Christy.John@osa.state.mn.us.