Over 1.9 trillion federal dollars have been allocated for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, of which nearly $437 billion are being given to state and local governments, including counties and municipalities. For the average Minnesotan, making sense of how Minnesota’s portion of that money is being distributed and if it is being done correctly may be a literally overwhelming task. We have a conversation with Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha, who clarifies the role of the Office of the State Auditor plays for ARPA funds (and any other funds given to local governments within the state):
- to oversee the distribution of these funds,
- to ensure transparency in the process of both distribution and assessment,
- to give local government bodies the knowledge and tools to achieve compliance before there are problems, and
- if necessary, to perform audits, compliance checks, and investigations.
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