2013 Minnesota Statutes

69.051 FINANCIAL REPORT, BOND, EXAMINATION.

Subdivision 1.Financial report and audit.

(a) The board of the Bloomington Fire Department Relief Association and each volunteer firefighters relief association as defined in section 424A.001, subdivision 4, with assets of at least $500,000 or liabilities of at least $500,000 in the prior year or in any previous year, according to the applicable actuarial valuation or according to the financial report if no valuation is required, shall prepare a financial report covering the special and general funds of the relief association for the preceding fiscal year, file the financial report, and submit financial statements.

(b) The financial report must contain financial statements and disclosures which present the true financial condition of the relief association and the results of relief association operations in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and in compliance with the regulatory, financing and funding provisions of this chapter and any other applicable laws. The financial report must be countersigned by:

(1) the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer of the municipality in which the relief association is located if the relief association is a firefighters relief association which is directly associated with a municipal fire department; or

(2) by the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer of the largest municipality in population which contracts with the independent nonprofit firefighting corporation if the volunteer firefighter relief association is a subsidiary of an independent nonprofit firefighting corporation and by the secretary of the independent nonprofit firefighting corporation; or

(3) by the chief financial official of the county in which the volunteer firefighter relief association is located or primarily located if the relief association is associated with a fire department that is not located in or associated with an organized municipality.

(c) The financial report must be retained in its office for public inspection and must be filed with the governing body of the government subdivision in which the associated fire department is located after the close of the fiscal year. One copy of the financial report must be furnished to the state auditor after the close of the fiscal year.

(d) Audited financial statements must be attested to by a certified public accountant or by the state auditor and must be filed with the state auditor within 180 days after the close of the fiscal year. The state auditor may accept this report in lieu of the report required in paragraph (c).

Subd. 1a.Financial statement.

(a) The board of each volunteer firefighters relief association, as defined in section 424A.001, subdivision 4, that is not required to file a financial report and audit under subdivision 1 must prepare a detailed statement of the financial affairs for the preceding fiscal year of the relief association's special and general funds in the style and form prescribed by the state auditor. The detailed statement must show:

(1) the sources and amounts of all money received;

(2) all disbursements, accounts payable and accounts receivable;

(3) the amount of money remaining in the treasury;

(4) total assets, including a listing of all investments;

(5) the accrued liabilities; and

(6) all other items necessary to show accurately the revenues and expenditures and financial position of the relief association.

(b) The detailed financial statement required under paragraph (a) must be certified by an independent public accountant or auditor or by the auditor or accountant who regularly examines or audits the financial transactions of the municipality. In addition to certifying the financial condition of the special and general funds of the relief association, the accountant or auditor conducting the examination shall give an opinion as to the condition of the special and general funds of the relief association, and shall comment upon any exceptions to the report. The independent accountant or auditor must have at least five years of public accounting, auditing, or similar experience, and must not be an active, inactive, or retired member of the relief association or the fire department.

(c) The detailed statement required under paragraph (a) must be countersigned by:

(1) the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer of the municipality; or

(2) where applicable, by the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer of the largest municipality in population which contracts with the independent nonprofit firefighting corporation if the relief association is a subsidiary of an independent nonprofit firefighting corporation and by the secretary of the independent nonprofit firefighting corporation; or

(3) by the chief financial official of the county in which the volunteer firefighter relief association is located or primarily located if the relief association is associated with a fire department that is not located in or associated with an organized municipality.

(d) The volunteer firefighters' relief association board must file the detailed statement required under paragraph (a) in the relief association office for public inspection and present it to the governing body of the municipality within 45 days after the close of the fiscal year, and must submit a copy of the detailed statement to the state auditor within 90 days of the close of the fiscal year.

Subd. 1b.Qualification.

The state auditor may, upon a demonstration by a relief association of hardship or an inability to conform, extend the deadline for reports under subdivisions 1 or 1a, but not beyond November 30th following the due date. If the reports are not received by November 30th, the municipality or relief association forfeits its current year state aid, and, until the state auditor receives the required information, the relief association or municipality is ineligible to receive any future state aid. A municipality or firefighters' relief association does not qualify initially to receive, or be entitled subsequently to retain, state aid under this chapter if the financial reporting requirement or the applicable requirements of this chapter or any other statute or special law have not been complied with or are not fulfilled.

Subd. 1c.

[Repealed, 2007 c 148 art 2 s 84]

Subd. 2.Treasurers bond.

(a) The treasurer of the Bloomington Fire Department Relief Association may not enter upon duties without having given the association a bond in a reasonable amount acceptable to the municipality for the faithful discharge of duties according to law.

(b) No treasurer of a relief association governed by sections 424A.091 to 424A.096 may enter upon the duties of the office until the treasurer has given the association a good and sufficient bond in an amount equal to at least ten percent of the assets of the relief association; however, the amount of the bond need not exceed $500,000.

Subd. 3.Report by certain municipalities.

(a) The chief administrative officer of each municipality which has an organized fire department but which does not have a firefighters' relief association governed by section 69.77 or sections 424A.091 to 424A.095 and which is not exempted under paragraph (b) shall annually prepare a detailed financial report of the receipts and disbursements by the municipality for fire protection service during the preceding calendar year on a form prescribed by the state auditor. The financial report must contain any information which the state auditor deems necessary to disclose the sources of receipts and the purpose of disbursements for fire protection service. The financial report must be signed by the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer of the municipality. The financial report must be filed by the municipal clerk or clerk-treasurer with the state auditor on or before July 1 annually. The municipality does not qualify initially to receive, and is not entitled subsequently to retain, state aid under this chapter if the financial reporting requirement or the applicable requirements of this chapter or any other statute or special law have not been complied with or are not fulfilled.

(b) Each municipality that has an organized fire department and provides retirement coverage to its firefighters through the voluntary statewide lump-sum volunteer firefighter retirement plan under chapter 353G qualifies to have fire state aid transmitted to and retained in the statewide lump-sum volunteer firefighter retirement fund without filing a detailed financial report if the executive director of the Public Employees Retirement Association certifies compliance by the municipality with the requirements of sections 353G.04 and 353G.08, paragraph (e), and certifies conformity by the applicable fire chief with the requirements of section 353G.07.

Subd. 4.Notification by commissioner and state auditor.

(a) The state auditor, in performing an audit or examination, shall notify the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement if the audit or examination reveals malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office by relief association officials or municipal officials.

(b) The commissioner shall notify the Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement if the state auditor has not filed the required financial compliance reports by July 1.

History:

1969 c 1001 s 5; 1971 c 695 s 6; Ex1971 c 6 s 9; 1973 c 492 s 7; 1977 c 429 s 63; 1981 c 224 s 22,274; 1982 c 460 s 3,4; 1983 c 113 s 2,3; 1986 c 359 s 9; 1986 c 444; 1993 c 86 s 1; 1997 c 241 art 10 s 1-3; 1Sp2005 c 8 art 9 s 1,2; 2010 c 359 art 6 s 1; 2012 c 286 art 12 s 2-4; 2013 c 111 art 5 s 24-29,80; 2013 c 123 s 1