State Auditor's E-Update - 10/8/2021

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. Meeting: Volunteer Fire Relief Association Working Group

3. TIF: District Certifications Require Whole Parcels

4. Released: 2021 Fire and Police State Aid Amounts

5. Avoiding Pitfall: Hearings on Municipal Liquor Store Losses

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

The deadline for small entities to apply for funds from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) has been extended to this coming Monday, October 11. As of this writing, over 600 qualified Minnesota towns and cities have not yet applied. The average amount of funds available to those who haven’t applied is about $30,000.

There are valid reasons not to participate, but I want to speak to those entities who incorrectly believe they need a plan before they apply.

Because of the long timeline to use the ARPA funds (three years to obligate the funds and two years beyond that to finish spending the funds) small towns and cities are not required to have a plan to apply. Given how unusual these past two years have been, no one can predict the impact of the pandemic three years out. It makes sense to keep options open and you have that ability with these funds.

In addition, if at some point in the next three years an entity decides it will not need part of all of their funds, they can shift them to be redistributed in their county or back to the State of Minnesota.

There is still time and the application is short and simple.

2. Meeting: Volunteer Fire Relief Association Working Group

The first meeting of the State Auditor’s 2021-2022 Volunteer Fire Relief Association Working Group will be held on October 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The meeting will be held remotely via Zoom, and will be live-streamed for those who are interested in watching. The live-stream link, and the meeting agendas and materials, are available on the Working Group page of the OSA website.

3. TIF: District Certifications Require Whole Parcels

A TIF district must be comprised of whole parcels, but there might often be parcel changes (plats, splits, or combinations) that accompany the TIF district's development activity. To learn more, check out the TIF article on the OSA website.

If you have any questions, please contact us at TIF@osa.state.mn.us.

4. Released: 2021 Fire and Police State Aid Amounts

The 2021 fire and police state aid amounts have been released by the Minnesota Department of Revenue and posted to the OSA website.

5. Avoiding Pitfall: Hearings on Municipal Liquor Store Losses

Cities operating municipal liquor stores must hold a public hearing not more than 45 days prior to the end of the fiscal year regarding the future of the liquor store if the operation of the liquor store has experienced losses, before transfers and without regard to costs related to pension obligations of store employees, as required by Statement 68 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, in any two of the past three consecutive years.

This Avoiding Pitfall is available on our website.