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CTC explains emergency repair reimbursement rules and how to account for RMRA carryover and interest
Summary
CTC staff explained new CalSMART fields to identify disaster or emergency‑related projects eligible for state or federal reimbursement, how jurisdictions may frontload RMRA funds, and why interest earnings and carryover must be reported and coded properly.
During the training, CTC staff introduced a new CalSMART field for projects eligible for emergency repair or disaster reimbursement and walked through how jurisdictions should report RMRA funds when reimbursements are anticipated.
Alicia Socorra explained jurisdictions may use RMRA to frontload emergency repairs or disaster recovery projects but must account conservatively: jurisdictions should claim only the portion of project costs that will not be reimbursed until final closeout and actual reimbursements are confirmed. As Socorra put it during the session, “You only report as expending… up to the amount that they say that they are going to reimburse. Right?”
Key points attendees should follow:
- Emergency/disaster projects: If a state or federal disaster declaration makes a project eligible for reimbursement, jurisdictions may apply RMRA funds during project delivery. However, the RMRA portion claimed as expended should reflect the non‑reimbursed share until final closeout and the reimbursement amount is known.
- Interest and carryover: Interest earned on RMRA carryover must be reported and used consistent with statutory eligibility. Jurisdictions should maintain coding to separate RMRA (SB 1) funds and interest from other local street funds so the State Controller’s Office remittance advice can be reconciled to submitted reports.
- Coordination and documentation: Socorra urged finance teams to coordinate with public works staff when allocating interest or tracking carryover and recommended contacting the State Controller’s Office for technical guidance on interest allocation methodology.
The session directed attendees to the California Local Government Finance Almanac for original RMRA estimates and to the State Controller’s apportionment pages to confirm actual receipts for September–August apportionment periods.
