OSA Weekly Update - 8/22/2025
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
2. Reminder: Relief Association Reports
3. Available: 2025 County TIF Training Video
4. Avoiding Pitfall: Monitor Federal Grant Subrecipients
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
Happy Minnesota State Fair to all who celebrate! The Great Minnesota Get Together is like local government, it offers a place for neighbors to come together as a community. It’s also a place of tradition. Yesterday, I did my Opening Day tradition: Greeted Fairgoers, “audited” new fair food and met with fellow crop artists.
This year, one of the pieces I entered was to celebrate the OSA. You can show off your bean-counting prowess by using this link to guess the number of beans I used.
2. Reminder: Relief Association Reports
The first deadline for fire relief associations to be eligible to receive 2025 fire state aid is on September 15, less than a month away. You can check out our reporting compliance dashboard to see a relief association’s status in submitting required reports to the OSA and if the relief association has met its requirements with the OSA to qualify for its aid distribution.
3. Available: 2025 County TIF Training Video
The OSA recently offered a training webinar “TIF County Administrators Training,” which discusses the roles of county staff in tax increment financing (TIF). The recording of this webinar is now posted on our website for anyone who missed them or would like to revisit portions of the training. Additionally, recordings of "An Introduction to TIF" and "TIF Authority Administrators Training," along with other training videos are available on the Training Opportunities page.
If you have any questions, contact us at TIF@osa.state.mn.us.
4. Avoiding Pitfall: Monitor Federal Grant Subrecipients
A governmental entity may pass federal grant funds to another entity, known as the “subrecipient” of the grant funds. A Subrecipient may be another governmental entity or a non-profit organization. In this situation, the original recipient of the funds has a responsibility to monitor the subrecipient to ensure the grant funds are being used for authorized purposes and as required by the grant agreement and applicable regulations.
These monitoring activities should occur throughout the year and may take various forms, such as:
- Reviewing financial and performance reports submitted by the subrecipient;
- Performing site visits; and
- Maintaining regular contact with the subrecipient and inquiring about program activities.
The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provides detailed information on subrecipient monitoring. You may access the current OMB Compliance Supplement on the White House website.
The full Avoiding Pitfall is available on the OSA website.