OSA Weekly Update - 3/6/2026
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
2. Released: 2025 Revenue Thresholds for Audit Requirements
3. Released: Relief Association Training Videos
4. Released: 2023 City Finances Report
5. Avoiding Pitfall: Petty Cash (Imprest) Funds – Part I
6. Job Openings
1. Message from Auditor Blaha
This Tuesday is Township Day, Minnesota’s best example of direct democracy. On March 10, townships will hold their annual meetings where residents vote on local levies, authorize key expenditures, elect leaders, decide on priorities, and if you’re lucky, set a gopher bounty. It’s the ultimate example of local control.
More Township Day resources are available on the Minnesota Association of Townships website.
2. Released: 2025 Revenue Thresholds for Audit Requirements
Cities - A city with a population over 2,500 must have an annual audit performed.
Cities with Combined Clerk/Treasurers - A city with a population of 2,500 or less and a combined clerk/treasurer must have an annual audit for 2025 if its annual revenue is more than $1,000,000. A city with a combined clerk/treasurer and annual revenue of $1,000,000 or less must have an Agreed-Upon Procedures engagement once every five years.
City Municipal Liquor Stores: Any city operating a municipal liquor store with 2025 total annual sales in excess of $750,000 shall submit to the state auditor audited financial statements produced in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles for the liquor store.
Towns - A town with a population over 2,500 and 2025 annual revenue of $1,283,000 or more must have an annual audit.
Towns with Combined Clerk/Treasurers - A town with a combined clerk/treasurer must have an annual audit for 2025 if its annual revenue was more than $1,000,000. A town with a combined clerk/treasurer and annual revenue of $1,000,000 or less must have an Agreed-Upon Procedures engagement once every five years.
Special Districts - A special district must have an annual audit for 2025 if its annual revenue was more than $1,000,000. A special district with annual revenue of $1,000,000 or less must have an Agreed-Upon Procedures engagement once every five years.
The OSA has developed minimum procedures and a reporting format for Agreed-Upon Procedures engagements of cities and towns that have combined the offices of clerk and treasurer, and special districts, with annual revenues less than the audit threshold. The minimum procedures and reporting format for Agreed-Upon Procedures engagements can be found on the OSA website.
3. Released: Relief Association Training Videos
New training videos are available that show how to complete each tab of the redesigned 2025 FIRE Form. The FIRE Form is the financial and investment reporting form that fire relief associations are required to annually complete and submit to the OSA. The form was redesigned this year to streamline and reduce data entry and for accessibility. To find the new videos, go to the Training Opportunities page of our website, scroll down to the “Pension Division” heading, and find the new videos under the “FIRE Form Series” heading. A short video walking through recent updates to relief association reporting forms is also available.
4. Released: 2023 City Finances Report
Last week, State Auditor Julie Blaha released the 2023 City Finances Report. The Report summarizes the current and long-term trends for city revenues, expenditures and debt. The Report and its underlying data are available on the OSA website.
The 2023 Minnesota city revenues and expenditures have been updated in the Comparison Tool. The Comparison Tool allows you to compare information for the same city for two different years, or to compare one city to another city.
5. Avoiding Pitfall: Petty Cash (Imprest) Funds – Part I
Petty cash funds, referred to as “imprest funds” in Minnesota’s statutes, are authorized for school districts, towns, counties, and cities. Due to the fact that these are cash funds (currency in the form of coins and bills), extra security precautions should be taken to safeguard these funds.
Each petty cash fund must be established by an entity's governing body, and a “custodian” of the fund must be appointed. Meeting minutes should document the creation, custodian, and amount of any petty cash fund. The governing body should periodically review these funds to determine whether they are still necessary.
Petty cash funds are not separate checking accounts. Rather, by law, these funds are cash (currency). They are allowed for the payment of any proper claim if “it is impractical” to pay the claim in any other manner. The statutes prohibit the funds' use for salaries or personal expenses of an officer or employee. Counties and school districts have additional statutory authority to use a petty cash fund for certain travel advances.
A claim itemizing all disbursements from a petty cash fund must be presented to the governing body at its next meeting. If the governing body approves the claim, the fund’s custodian should be given payment to replenish the fund. If the governing body fails to approve the claim in full, the fund’s custodian is personally responsible for the difference. The laws governing petty cash (imprest) funds are Minn. Stat. §§ 123B.11 (school districts), 366.01, subd. 12 (towns), 375.162 (counties), and 412.271, subd. 5 (cities).
The full Avoiding Pitfall is available on the OSA website.
6. Job Openings
Director of Special Investigations
The OSA is hiring a Director of Special Investigations based in St. Paul. This position oversees the OSA’s special investigations function and the Special Investigations division staff members. The Director is responsible for setting the focus and priorities of the division and developing and managing an investigative program that efficiently employs thorough and impeccable legal and financial analyses to examine and report upon areas of improper handling of public dollars held by local government.
The job posting will close on March 26, 2026.
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