How to report direct distributions and complete FY27 budgets in the OAA grants portal
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Summary
OAA staff demonstrated portal fields for direct distribution reporting, guidance on what to include/exclude (McKinsey and Henry Schein payments excluded), subrecipient documentation requirements, and how carry-forward and new-year requests reconcile in FY27 renewals.
OAA staff walked applicants through the mechanics of completing direct distribution reports and the FY27 renewal budget in the grants portal, including how to enter received amounts by fiscal year, report amounts expended or allocated, and reconcile carry-forward and new request totals.
Sharika Bridges said the direct distribution section asks applicants to add fiscal years (many must add FY26) and then edit received amounts for each fiscal year. "In this first section, you're only reporting on your direct settlement funds that were received by fiscal year," she said, and later clarified that jurisdictions should not include settlement payments from McKinsey or Henry Schein because those are not part of the Commonwealth settlement MOU and are excluded from the portal lookup tool.
Bridges described three reporting buckets for each fiscal year: amounts expended or allocated to OAA projects, amounts expended or allocated to non-OAA projects, and amounts set aside in reserve. For each category applicants select the fiscal year checkbox, click edit, and enter current-year-to-date expenditures and projected year-end totals; the portal produces a reconciliation showing grand totals, expenditures, allocations/reserves and any unallocated balances.
On the project proposal page, applicants must identify any subrecipients, contractors or vendors who will receive funds, the amount they will receive and their role, and must indicate whether those organizations are new or continuing. Bridges said fiscal-agent cities or counties must have a written agreement (contract or MOU) with subrecipients before OAA will provide funds if the renewal is approved.
For budget line items, applicants enter current year expenditures and projected year-end totals for personnel, operating and capital lines. The portal auto-calculates carry-forward amounts; if a locality requests carry-forward plus new funding for a line item, the two amounts must be added and entered as the FY27 total. Bridges gave a funding-source example showing $1,000 carry-forward plus $8,000 new funding results in a $9,000 request and said applicants should check the funding request reconciliation to ensure totals align with expenses.
Bridges also cautioned that approved OAA capital awards will likely include a contingency requiring a capital cost agreement to keep the asset in abatement use for 15 years or risk repayment. For non-OAA projects funded by direct distribution dollars, applicants must list the project name, amounts, start/end dates and a brief description, or skip that section if not applicable.
What applicants should do: start renewals early, coordinate with finance teams, ensure executive e-signatures are in place, consult the carry-forward scenarios guide linked in the budget pages, and contact their OAA local-government liaison for technical assistance.