Reminder: Qualifying Statements Must Be Filed by December 31

In last month’s edition of School Law Notes, we reviewed the importance of filing the Municipal Fi­nance Qualifying Statement form with the Michigan De­partment of Treasury by December 31 each year. A successful Qualifying Statement submission gives a school “qualified status” for the upcoming year. Obtain­ing qualified status allows schools to issue most types of municipal obligations (bonds, state aid notes, and tax notes) without the delay of applying for Treasury pre-approval and reduces related filing fees. This article provides one final reminder about this important annual task.

As a service to our retainer and regular finance clients, Thrun Law Firm’s finance attorneys will, at a cli­ent’s request and at no charge, review a draft Qualifying Statement before filing. Due to the electronic submis­sion process, clients should print a screenshot of the draft online submission form for review. Clients that wish to take advantage of this service should provide us with the draft Qualifying Statement by early December to allow adequate time for review.

As an additional reminder, to avoid denial, please remember to file the school’s annual audit with Treas­ury before filing the Qualifying Statement. If your school is denied qualified status for this or any other reason, please contact our office before submitting a request for reconsideration of that denial. Treasury allows only one reconsideration request each year, so it is critical that the reconsideration filing be error free. A flawed reconsideration request will likely result in a final de­nial of qualified status for the upcoming calendar year.