Mission Statement
The Office of the State Auditor helps to ensure financial integrity and accountability in local government financial activities.
Our Jurisdiction
Under Minnesota law, the OSA has the authority and discretion to review the books, records and related financial affairs of Minnesota local units of government, such as cities, towns, counties and special districts, but not state offices or agencies. See, e.g., Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 6.
The OSA cannot take the place of a legal advisor or a court of law. The OSA cannot resolve contractual or other disputes or decide questions which are currently in litigation or where litigation is imminent. Because we must defer to the courts, we wait until litigation is completed before deciding whether reviewable issues remain. We do not decide hypothetical or moot questions, or interpret the meaning of terms in contracts and other agreements; the meaning of such terms depends on the intent of the parties and requires determinations of fact that are best left to the parties themselves or to the courts.
The Office of the State Auditor performs approximately 100 financial and compliance audits and reviews approximately 450 single audits per year. Audited entities include: counties; the three first-class cities (Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth); government authorities affiliated with these counties and cities; regional organizations; and other entities as required by Minnesota Statute. Click here to see the relevant statutes.
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has financial oversight responsibility for local governments – cities, counties, towns, and special districts. The OSA is a constitutional office of the state under the direction of the elected State Auditor.
The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) audits state government agencies and the constitutional offices, including the Office of the State Auditor. The OLA is under the direction of the Legislative Auditor, who is appointed by the Legislative Audit Commission.
Yes. You can report your concern to the Office of the State Auditor’s Legal/Special Investigations Division. Please visit our "Report a Concern" webpage for more information.
A fire relief association is a governmental entity that also is a nonprofit organization, that receives and manages public money to provide retirement benefits for individuals providing the governmental services of firefighting and emergency first response. The relief association is a separate entity from the affiliated fire department and is governed by its own board of trustees. Relief associations have reporting requirements with the Office of the State Auditor (OSA), as well as with other state and federal agencies. The OSA certifies relief associations as eligible for state aid once all reporting information has been received, and any identified issues have been resolved.
Search to find a relief association’s status in meeting its requirements with the OSA to be certified as eligible for fire state aid, view the status of relief association report submissions, and confirm the status of the OSA’s review of the submitted reports in our Fire Relief Association Reporting Compliance Dashboard.
Tax Increment financing (TIF) is a financing tool meant to support local economic development, redevelopment, and housing development that would not otherwise occur without assistance. As its name suggests, TIF uses the incremental property taxes, or “tax increments,” generated by the increased taxable value of a new development to help finance qualifying costs. TIF is not a tax reduction; taxes are paid on the full taxable value. The original taxable value continues to be part of the tax base that supports the tax levies of the city, county, school district, and other taxing jurisdictions. The new, additional value from development activity is “captured” from the tax base for the duration of the TIF district. After the TIF district is terminated, or “decertified,” the captured value becomes part of the tax base.
For more information, see our annual TIF Legislative Reports and our Training Opportunities page.