OSA Weekly Update - 1/17/2025
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
2. Released: Fire Relief Association Reporting Forms
3. Available: County TIF Information Form
4. Available: 2024 Annual Financial Reporting Forms
5. Avoiding Pitfall: Segregation of Duties - Part II
6. Deadlines
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
This MLK weekend, let’s reflect on what Dr. King said about being connected to our neighbors. This quote from his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is fitting this year:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 16th April, 1963
Strong local communities are built on fairness and access. Those of us who work at the ground level know that when residents have real access to opportunity, the whole area benefits. Injustice, inequality, or barriers to opportunity pull the whole community down economically, socially, and morally. This weekend, let’s think about how we ensure all of our neighbors have true access to the American dream.
For background on Dr. King's letter, visit Stanford’s MLK Research and Education Institute.
2. Released: Fire Relief Association Reporting Forms
The 2024 FIRE Form (FIRE-24) and 2025 Schedule Form (SC-25) for fire relief associations are available for completion. Reporting forms are accessible through the State Auditor’s Form Entry System (SAFES).
A short video explaining recent form updates can be found on the OSA website. Detailed instructions for completing the forms and a reporting checklist that explains how to access, submit, and electronically sign forms are also posted online.
3. Available: County TIF Information Form
The County TIF Information Form is now available and is due from counties by March 31, 2025. The form captures information for 2024 regarding a county's TIF administrative activities, distributions of tax increment, and transfers of the TIF enforcement deduction. Refer to emailed instructions (sent 1/17/25) on accessing the form in SAFES.
If you are responsible for reporting in your county and did not receive an email, contact our office at TIF@osa.state.mn.us.
4. Available: 2024 Annual Financial Reporting Forms
The 2024 Annual Financial Reporting Form (Reporting Form) is now available through SAFES. You’ll need a SAFES User ID and Password to access the Form. If you need a SAFES User ID and Password, 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 Reporting Form can be found on the OSA website.
CTAS Users are now also able to submit the State Auditor Data File and Financial Statements right from CTAS. Instructions can be found on the OSA website.
For local government entities reporting on a cash basis of accounting, the Reporting Form (CTAS: State Auditor Data File) and Unaudited Financial Statements are due by March 31, 2025. For cities reporting on a cash basis of accounting required to have an Audit or Agreed Upon Procedures Engagement (AUP) completed, the Reporting Form, Audit or Financial Statements, and AUP are due June 16, 2025. For entities reporting on a GAAP basis of accounting, the Reporting Form and Audit are due by June 30, 2025.
5. Avoiding Pitfall: Segregation of Duties - Part II
When the segregation of accounting functions is not possible due to the size of the entity, management should constantly be aware of this condition. The concentration of duties and responsibilities in a single individual is not desirable from an accounting point of view. Additional internal control policies and procedures should be used to compensate for the lack of segregated duties.
Additional policies and procedures could include:
- A formal, numbered receipt book should be used for all receipts;
- Minutes should include the claim number of bills approved for payment;
- Invoices should be canceled to ensure they are not paid twice
- Town supervisors or city council members should determine that reports are submitted promptly, and are in agreement with cash balances and grant expenditures; and
- The town board or city council should adopt a formal conflicts of interest policy.
The Avoiding Pitfall is available on the OSA website.
6. Deadlines
Due: 2025 Summary City and County Budget Form by January 31, 2025
The 2025 Summary City and County Budget Form is now available through SAFES.
The form is due by January 31, 2025. 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.
Due: 2024 Lobbying Costs Reporting by January 31, 2025
The 2024 lobbying costs reporting forms are available for both local governments and local government associations. The forms may be found in SAFES.
On the OSA website you can find, instructions for the Lobbying Expenditure Reporting Form for Local Governments and instructions for the Lobbying Expenditure Reporting Form for Local Government Associations.
If you have questions or need assistance completing the form, contact John Jernberg at (651) 297-3678 or John.Jernberg@osa.state.mn.us.
phone number. Instructions on completing the form are located on the OSA website.
Due: 2024 Law Enforcement Agency Asset Forfeiture Reporting by February 28, 2025
Remember to report all forfeitures with a 2024 final disposition to the OSA by February 28, 2025. 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 2024 final disposition, you’ll still need to login to SAFES, select the Forms tab, then the 2024 tab, and select the button labeled "I have not disposed or forfeited any property in 2024” by February 28, 2025. Entities with forfeitures to report for the year 2024 should NOT check this box.
If you haven't used SAFES in the past and need a username and password, e-mail 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, contact Christy John at (651) 297-3681 or e-mail Christy.John@osa.state.mn.us.
Due: 2024 Annual Forfeiture Expenditures Reporting by February 28, 2025
Law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities, remember to report expenditure of forfeited property proceeds, including proceeds received through state and federal forfeiture law to the OSA by February 28, 2025.
Instructions for the Forfeiture Expenditures form are available the on OSA website.
Reporting must be done using the online reporting tool available in SAFES.
If you haven't used SAFES in the past and need a username and password, e-mail 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, contact Christy John at (651) 297-3681 or e-mail Christy.John@osa.state.mn.us.
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