California Transportation Commission walks local agencies through RMRA reporting and Cal Smart navigation

Alicia Sequeira, program manager for the Local Streets and Roads funding program at the California Transportation Commission, led a virtual technical training on Oct. 8 to walk cities and counties through RMRA (Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account) expenditure reporting in Cal Smart.

Sequeira opened by summarizing the program and schedule: jurisdictions must report all RMRA funds spent in the state fiscal year (July 1–June 30) and the Cal Smart expenditure submission window generally closes for new submittals on Dec. 1, with the system still allowing edits afterward. "These funds do not lapse — there is no use-it-or-lose-it," Sequeira said, noting that interest accrued on RMRA balances also must be tracked and used in accordance with statute.

Why it matters: accurate reporting helps the commission reconcile apportionments with the State Controller’s Office and supports transparency to the Legislature and public. Sequeira repeatedly urged jurisdictions to work closely with their finance teams so RMRA expenditures are recorded consistently across public-works and accounting systems; common errors stem from mismatched coding and proportional cost allocation between funding sources.

What to include in reports: Sequeira reviewed required fields in Cal Smart — project title and an internal project ID if available, component (construction, preconstruction/design, procurement/operational needs), location (neighborhood or identifiable street, not opaque maintenance zones), congressional and state legislative districts, estimated total project cost (all funding sources), RMRA amounts expended, status (completed, in progress, carried over, forecasted, or no longer RMRA funded), and completed-project outputs such as miles paved or ADA ramps installed. She emphasized that invoiceable work must have occurred within July 1–June 30 to count for the reporting year; an award date inside the fiscal year does not, by itself, make work invoiceable if construction began afterward.

Cal Smart navigation and new features: using a test account, Sequeira demonstrated exporting prior-year proposed and expenditure lists to Excel, linking prior and current projects to streamline reporting, and the new emergency-repair filter to mark projects eligible for disaster reimbursement (fire, flood, earthquake, other). She cautioned about account setup rules (one email per jurisdiction for approvers, consultant access requires local authorization) and advised using the password-reset option rather than attempting multiple failed logins, which can lock accounts.

PCI and completion rules: the presentation clarified that Pavement Condition Index (PCI) reporting is mandatory only when PCI is 80 or higher (agencies may report it voluntarily at lower PCI). For completion status, Sequeira defined "completed" as the asset being open and usable by the public, pending final closeout; final closeout items (for example, retention payments) are part of the final closeout process and may be accounted for later.

Attendee Q&A highlights: attendees asked whether RMRA funds used as local match for grants should be reported and how reimbursements affect RMRA totals; Sequeira recommended conservatively reporting the minimum RMRA portion until reimbursements are finalized and urged jurisdictions to check with the State Controller’s Office for controller-specific reporting guidance. Dylan Albert of the City of Ulster asked whether retention-payment releases count as final closeout; Sequeira confirmed releases are part of final closeout. For projects completed under budget without RMRA expenditures, Sequeira advised marking them as "no longer RMRA funded" and providing the explanation in the intake page.

Follow-up and resources: the training included handouts in Cal Smart's Help & Resources tab, and Sequeira said one of the two trainings that day will be posted online along with a frequently asked questions document. Staff encouraged jurisdictions to email lsr@ctc.ca.gov for individualized help with coding or reporting questions.

Session close: Sequeira closed by reminding participants that accurate, consistent reporting preserves program transparency and reduces long-term correction burdens; she stayed on the call to answer remaining questions and said recordings and materials would be posted for later review.