OSA Weekly Update - 7/19/2024

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

2. TIF: Annual Reporting Forms Due August 1

3. Meeting: Fire Relief Association Working Group

4. Avoiding Pitfall: Update Bank Signature Cards

1. Message from Auditor Blaha

The annual OSA Lobbying Report was released on Monday. Lobbying expenditures in 2023 jumped 14 percent over the year before, the largest increase since 2005. Find all the details here. Our role is to report the facts, and those who experience the data directly can give them meaning. Why do you think there was such a large increase in lobbying expenditures? Is your local experience matching the statewide average? Let us know at outreach@osa.state.mn.us.

2. TIF: Annual Reporting Forms Due August 1

Authorities must submit 2023 TIF Annual Reporting Forms to the OSA using the State Auditor Form Entry System (SAFES) on or before August 1, 2024. Instructions, sample forms, and videos on how to fill out and submit TIF reporting forms are available under the heading “Resources for Completing Forms” on the TIF Forms page.

3. Meeting: Fire Relief Association Working Group

The first meeting of the State Auditor’s 2024-2025 Fire Relief Association Working Group will be held on July 24, from 10-11:30 a.m.

The meeting will be held in an in-person/virtual hybrid format 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.

4. Avoiding Pitfall: Update Bank Signature Cards

When an employee of a local government entity or public official with check-signing authority no longer has that authority, that person's name should be removed immediately from the entity’s bank signature card(s). This is a key internal control designed to manage and reduce the risk of a theft of public funds.

The full avoiding pitfall is available on the OSA Website.