Reminder: Qualifying Statements Must Be Filed by December 31

In last month’s edition of School Law Notes, we discussed the importance of annually filing the Municipal Finance Qualifying Statement form with the Michigan Department of Treasury by December 31. 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 and additional cost of applying for Treasury pre-approval. 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 additional 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 verify that the school’s annual audit has been filed with Treasury before filing the Qualifying Statement.

If your school is denied qualified status for any 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 request be error-free. A flawed reconsideration request will likely result in a final denial of qualified status for the upcoming calendar year.