COVID-19

If the COVID-19 crisis is hurting your local government's cash flow, you might be looking to borrow from restricted funds. A restricted fund is one containing revenues that are intended for a certain purpose due to legal or contractual constraints. However, if such a fund is holding cash that's not needed currently and it's legally available to be invested, then it may be loaned to other funds. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

I want to share an important update with you. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) voted Thursday, May 7 to delay implementation of several new accounting standards. The decision by GASB takes effect immediately, and comes in response to requests by governments across the country as they grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.

By Debbie Pennick
Assistant Director for the Center for Government Innovation

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance Program was activated March 13, 2020, when President Trump declared the ongoing coronavirus pandemic an emergency under the Stafford Act. With recent passage of the CARES Act, the program has received an influx of resources available to state and local governments.

Based on our years of experience auditing FEMA public assistance grants and FEMA's current guidance, we have a few suggestions and resources for you:

Document your expenses

We know there's a lot of information coming out right now about federal grant programs and other federal financial assistance. It can be challenging to find information and resources you might be interested in, so we have done some legwork for you. Here are some resources you might find helpful as you seek and apply for federal grant funding:

As local government workers get accustomed to working from home, there are a couple things our information technology experts here at the State Auditor's Office consider to be some especially risky areas. This blog post will cover the highest risk areas we can think of, but there others you might be encountering.

As a supervisor or manager, you play a key role in reducing the stress of your team members in times of disruption. Here are five things you can do to help your employees through an unexpected change such as teleworking during the coronavirus pandemic.

Self-care first

First, thank you for all of your work over the past several weeks. Because of the efforts of Washingtonians from every corner of the state and every sector of the economy, we have seen hopeful signs in our fight against this pandemic. While we are by no means done, I think all of us can feel a sense of pride in what Washington has accomplished so far.

Second, I want share some guidance and updates from the State Auditor's Office.

The most important advice we are sharing with all our audit clients in state and local government comes down to one action word: document.

The coronavirus pandemic likely is forcing you to change how you do your work, such as processing payroll or paying your bills. For example, you might have fewer staff members working to do the same tasks. Teleworking adds another component, often requiring a change to how you process and approve transactions. We understand that local governments need to get the work done, but we'd like to share a few important things.

Changes can create risk

The coronavirus pandemic has created many novel situations across Washington and the world — social distancing, disruptions to the school schedule, and the temporary closure of many businesses. Governor Inslee's “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order allows for those occupations that can be conducted via telework to continue, which includes many state and local government workers.