Helpful Tips on ERA Reporting Now Available
If there’s one thing for certain, grant applicants and recipients particularly appreciate tips to help them better administer grant programs, but while federal agencies will generally release program rules and guidance, it’s quite rare that you will see them mention the word “tip.” That’s why a recent “special tip” related to quarterly reporting issued by the Department of Treasury for its Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program caught our eye. Even better, the document included five pages worth of reporting tips and clarifications.
The Emergency Rental Assistance program made about $46.2 billion total in funding available, issued as ERA1 and ERA2, to state and local governments under two COVID-19 emergency relief legislative packages to assist renters and landlords of households that are unable to pay rent or utilities. The tips document highlights some key points about quarterly and monthly reporting under existing guidance, whereby ERA recipients should report their ERA funds as obligated for payments that are to be made immediately or to be made later.
It particularly stresses that in addition to obligations that have not yet been paid, recipients must also report ERA funds that have been paid/expended as obligated in each quarterly report. Amounts reported as expenditures to Treasury in the monthly reports should be similarly reported as expenditures and obligations in the associated ERA quarterly report. The sum of expenditures in ERA monthly reports are expected to equal quarterly total expenditures for the respective period less any necessary adjustments.
The tips document also noted that recipients should ensure that amounts reported as obligated or expended do not exceed the total amount of the recipient’s respective ERA1 and/or ERA2 award received from Treasury. The agency explained that some recipients have reported obligations or expenditures that exceed the amount of their awarded funds. While recipients may use other non-Treasury ERA funds for their rental assistance programs, and are encouraged to do so within Treasury and Office of Management and Budget guidance, they should only report expenditures and obligations received from Treasury for their ERA1 and/or ERA2 award in their quarterly reports.
Treasury also provides other reporting tips and clarifications within the document related to reporting payments to individuals, unincorporated small landlords and businesses, as well as other important clarifications. The agency also sought feedback from recipients related to other existing requirements under the program and clarifications provided in the document. Hopefully, this guidance will help make ERA reporting easier going forward.
Join us for our following Thompson Grants event:
Thompson Grants Workshop: Federal Grant Reporting - 2022 Update| Feb. 23, 2022 | Virtual Event
Federal Grants Forum For State & Local Governments | March 2-3, 2022 | Virtual Event
Nonprofit Legal, Finance, and Grants Conference | March 16-18, 2022 | Washington, D.C.
