State Auditor's E-Update - 4/22/2022

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. Relief Associations: Selected Relevant Statutes Booklet

3. TIF: TIF Pooled Debt Form

4. Released: 2020 County Finances Report

5. Avoiding Pitfall: Employee Timekeeping and Payroll Procedures

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

Are you trying to find an article from a previous E-Update? We have years of past issues archived on the OSA website. Bonus – the archives are searchable if you’re not sure exactly which issue you need.

2. Relief Associations: Selected Relevant Statutes Booklet

An updated version of the Selected Relevant Statutes booklet for volunteer fire relief associations is now available. The Selected Relevant Statutes booklet contains many of the State statutes relevant to relief associations. Relief association trustees are encouraged to download the booklet for reference when updating bylaws, making investment decisions, and calculating benefit payments.

The booklet may be accessed on the OSA website.

3. TIF: TIF Pooled Debt Form

In addition to filing an Annual TIF Report Form for each tax increment financing (TIF) district, authorities must also submit a TIF Pooled Debt Form for any outstanding pooled debt. The forms will be made available in May and are due August 1st. Authorities that have new pooled debts should notify our office as soon as possible to enable the new form to be available when the other forms are posted in the State Auditor Form Entry System (SAFES).

To learn more, please visit the OSA website.

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

4. Released: 2020 County Finances Report

This week State Auditor Julie Blaha released the County Finances Report. The Report summarizes the current and long-term trends for county revenues, expenditures, and debt.

View the complete report, which includes an Executive Summary, graphs, and tables on the OSA website.

The 2020 Minnesota county revenues and expenditures have been updated in the Comparison Tool. The Comparison Tool allows you to compare information for the same county for two different years, or to compare one county to another county.

5. Avoiding Pitfall: Employee Timekeeping and Payroll Procedures

Some local units of government have run into problems with employee timekeeping and payroll procedures. To avoid this potential pitfall, we encourage government entities to design and implement a system of internal controls in order to ensure that timekeeping and payroll methods are accurate and reliable.

This Avoiding Pitfall is available on our website.