1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. Released: Minnesota Special Districts Finance Report

3. Due: GAAP Basis City and Town Reporting by June 30, 2021

4. Due: Performance Measurement Program Report by July 1, 2021

5. TIF: Excess TIF is Not Tax Increment

6. Deadline: Relief Association Reporting Forms

7. Avoiding Pitfall: Establishing Separate Relief Association Accounts

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

This week I want to direct your attention to our press releases.

Our audit reports come as a package and the press releases provide the introduction of an audit to the public. The press release functions as a summary, offers a clear breakdown of important data sets, and provides a narrative of trends that we're seeing in a given area. Of course, for those of us that like to dig in to numbers, the full audit report is available for the numbers beyond the highlighted findings.

It is important that the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) is a resource to understanding the numbers behind units of local government. A press release that accompanies a given audit report offers greater transparency and accessibility to the OSA.

2. Released: Minnesota Special Districts Finance Report

State Auditor Julie Blaha released the 2019 financial report on Minnesota’s special districts this week. Special districts are local government units created or authorized by state law to perform specific duties or to provide specific services. This report categorizes special districts into 30 functional categories such as airport commissions, hospital districts, and sanitation districts.

The press release is available here.

The complete report is available here.

3. Due: GAAP Basis City and Town Reporting by June 30, 2021

For cities and townships reporting on the GAAP basis of accounting, the Reporting Form and Financial Statements/Audit are due by June 30, 2021. The Reporting Form and Financial Statements/Audit should be submitted through SAFES.

Management letters and component unit financial statements should be emailed as PDF attachments to GID.OSA@osa.state.mn.us.

4. Due: Performance Measurement Program Report by July 1, 2021

Participation in the Performance Measurement Program by a city or a county is voluntary. Counties and cities that choose to participate in the standard measures program must officially adopt and implement the ten minimum performance measures and system developed by the Council on Local Results and Innovation (Council). In order to receive the per capita reimbursement and levy limit exemption in 2021, if any, counties and cities must file a report (in a PDF format) with the Office of the State Auditor by July 1, 2021.

For more information on the Performance Measurement Program, please click here.

5. TIF: Excess TIF is Not Tax Increment

As TIF authorities work on completing TIF Annual Reporting Forms, form preparers should be aware that "excess TIF," or "excess taxes," which might appear on tax settlement reports, are not tax increment and should not be reported as such. In short, excess taxes are amounts generated in the course of tax increment computations when the current tax rate exceeds the original tax rate for a TIF district. To learn more, please click here.

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

6. Deadline: Relief Association Reporting Forms by June 30, 2021

The 2020 reporting-year forms for volunteer fire relief associations with assets or liabilities of at least $500,000 are due to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) by June 30, 2021. Relief associations with the June 30 reporting deadline are required to submit audited financial statements in addition to the reporting forms.

The reporting forms can be accessed through the State Auditor’s Form Entry System (SAFES).

Helpful hints for completing, submitting, and electronically signing the reporting forms can be found here.

7. Avoiding Pitfall: Establishing Separate Relief Association Accounts

The OSA occasionally finds that a volunteer fire relief association has commingled special and general funds into one bank account, rather than keep them in separate accounts. Fire state aid and municipal contributions must be deposited into the special fund of a relief association. Because the special fund consists of public funds and is a restricted pension fund, Minnesota law strictly limits how the funds may be invested and disbursed. Having a commingled bank account makes it difficult for a relief association to properly track its special fund assets and to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.

This Avoiding Pitfall is available on our website here.