1. Minnesota County Highway Accountant’s Conference April 26, 2018
State Aid 101 and Update
Minnesota County Highway Accountant’s Conference April 26, 2018

2. About us
State Aid 101 available at
State Aid for Local Transportation (SALT) was established in 1957
The purpose of the state aid program is to provide resources, from the Highway Users Tax Distribution Fund (HUTDF), to assist local governments with the construction and maintenance of community-interest highways and streets on the state aid system.
The goals of the state aid program are to provide users of secondary highways and streets with:
Safe highways and streets
Adequate mobility and structural capacity on highways and streets
An integrated transportation network

3. State Aid’s organization
State Aid (Central Office)
Administration
Project Delivery: Federal, State Aid, State Aid Programs, Emergency Relief, Safe Routes to School, and Traffic Safety
County Needs
Municipal Needs
Information Resources
District Engineers
District State Aid Engineers (DSAE)
District State Aid Assistant (DSAA)

4. Role of State Aid (Central Office)
Administer the distribution of funding
Distribute funds for highway maintenance and construction to counties, cities, and townships
Provide technical assistance
Authorize funds for bridge construction
Coordinate locally funded projects
Provide overall management of the state aid system

5. Role of District State Aid Engineers
Each district has one District State Aid Engineer (DSAE) and at least one District State Aid Assistant (DSAA)
Liaison to local agencies
State Aid responsibilities
Needs review
Plan approval/processing
Construction review/approval
Assist in local issues as needed

6. Construction and Traffic Safety
Online resources for construction (
Pay item forms
Contract administration forms
Information and resources
Services and resources for traffic safety
Highway Safety Improvement Program

7. Tools and applications
eAdvert (
Tool for locals to post construction projects for bid
Project Mapping Tracking ( mapping.html)
Interactive map of current State Aid projects
SA NEEDS 3 (
Application that is used to determine the annual apportionments
State Aid Accounting System (SAAS) (
Generate various financial reports

8. State Aid’s role State agencies and federal agencies: State Aid
MnDOT
PCA
DNR
FHWA
FTA
Army Corp of Engineers
State Aid
Local agencies
Counties
Cities
Townships

9. What’s included in the state aid system?
County State Aid Highway (CSAH)
87 counties
8 metro counties and 79 counties in greater Minnesota
Municipal State Aid Street (MSAS)
148 cities of population greater than 5,000
84 metro cities and 64 cities in greater Minnesota
Town road and bridge
Jurisdictional Transfers (Turnbacks)

10. County – state aid system
The County State Aid Highway (CSAH) system is a network of key routes under the jurisdiction of Minnesota’s counties (Minnesota Statues ).
CSAH system covers just over 30,700 miles (2/3) of county roads.
The system was established in 1957 and has remained relatively constant.
There are established criteria for eligible routes.

11. County state aid funding – from pump to project

12. Highway User Tax Distribution Fund (HUTDF)
Constitutionally dedicated to MnDOT, counties and state aid cities
Fuel Tax
License Tabs
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax

13. County Needs – funding overview
County state aid funds are collected by the state according to the constitution and law, distributed from the Highway Users Tax Distribution Funds (HUTDF).
The county share of the HUDTF is 29% of the regular 95%.
The County State Aid Highway Needs Unit collects and maintains data to calculate the annual distribution to the counties to maintain, improve and construct their designated county state aid highways.

14. County Needs – Money Needs and Screening Board
“Needs” is the estimated total annual cost of constructing, over a period of 25 years, the CSAH system to standards in a county (Minnesota Statutes , Subd. 2).
Annually, we collect information from counties to calculate their 25-year needs.
Every October the County Screening Board submits its findings and recommendations in writing which includes each county's lane-mileage and Money Needs.
The County Screening Board is made up of county representatives from the eight MnDOT districts and six urban counties.

15. County Needs - accounts
After each county's total allocation is determined their money is further divided into regular and municipal accounts.
Regular is based on all mileage outside the corporate limits of cities under 5,000 population which includes the miles inside corporate limits of cities over 5,000 population.
Municipal is based on mileage inside the corporate limits of non-state aid cities (under 5000 pop.).
The regular and municipal accounts are further divided into construction and maintenance
Construction is 60% of the account and must have an approved plan or agreement
Maintenance is 40% of the account and does not require a plan. Counties must report their expenses to the State Aid office annually

16. Local Bridge/Road Bond Language – aka Earmarks
There is a difference between Trunk Highway (TH) bonds and General Obligation (GO) bonds
TH – utilized for trunk highway purposes
GO – utilized for local roadways/bridges
Earmarks – The words you use matter and dictate how you are able to utilize the funds. Do not assume intent.
Project readiness is key
Recommended to not ask for $ if project is not ready for construction in 3-4 years
Legislature likes to see $ that they have appropriated get out the door as quickly as possible
Having a pot of $ sitting there looking unused does not help with future requests for funding
Projects tend to go smoother when local agencies are the lead agency on a cooperative agreement project with MnDOT

17. Local Bridge/Road Bond Language – aka Earmarks
No specific earmark
Construction only on local road/bridge*
Right of way**, engineering, construction, administration
All are eligible items for local road/bridge elements. Must show project is fully funded to use for any element.
Road/bridge improvements
Construction only on local road/bridge*
Interchange with a Trunk Highway
Only local road/bridge elements are eligible. Typically determined on case by case with MMB.
Road/bridge realignment
Construction only on local road/bridge*
*For bridge projects, the funding can only be used for eligible items included in the State Aid Manual.
**Use of GO bonds for ROW is discouraged

18. Local Bridge Replacement Program (LBRP)

19. Local Bridge Replacement Program (LBRP)

20. Local Bridge Replacement Program History
Year
Bond $
# Projects
2006
$54.7m
228
2008
$51.5m
133
Total:
$335.5 million in bond funds
982 bridges replaced
Avg - $342,000 per bridge
2009
$10m 6
2017 Legislative Bonding:
Total - $49,212,000
Competitive - $16,537,000
All funding has been allocated/encumbered on projects. No funding remaining.
2010
$66m
232
2012
$62.7m
256
2014
$33m 49
2015
$7.4 4
2017
$49.2 67

21. Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP)

22. Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP)

23. Local Road Improvement Program History
Year
Bond $
# Projects
2005
$10m 46
2006
$16m 75
2008
$10m 81
Total:
$235.2 million in bond funds
289 roads improved
Avg - $815,000 per project
2012
$20m 34
2017 Legislative Bonding:
Total - $115,932,000
Competitive - $25,366,000
2014
$54.4m 43
2015
$8.9m 9
2016
$3.2m 1
2017
$112.7 47

24. LBRP and LRIP Status Local Bridge Replacement Program
Local Road Improvement Program
Master Local Bridge Priority List (5 year priority: )
Bridges identified by local agencies as priority for replacement within their 5-year capital improvement program
958 bridges requesting $261 million in bond funds
Local Bridge Waiting List (as of April 2018)
Bridges that have been designed and approved or are in the process of design
134 bridges requesting $64 million in bond funds
Agency
# Projects Funded
Bond $ Awarded
Total Project Cost
County 16
$87.35M
$339.02M
State Aid City 13
$18.89M
$54.78M
Small City 11
$5.22M
$19.52M
Township 7
$4.38M
$5.86M
Total 36
$115.84M
$419.18M

25. State Aid partners State Aid partners State Aid Bridge
State Aid Finance

26. State Aid Bridge
Process state and/or federally funded local bridges and structures
Local bridge information resource
Annual Local Bridge Cost Reporting
Liaison with MnDOT Bridge Office

27. State Aid Finance
State Aid Finance provides accounting and financial support to Minnesota’s cities and counties.
Accountant training through on-site visits
Provide financial support and training for engineers through on-site visits
Federal Aid and State Aid payments
Commissioner’s Order for HUTDF apportionment
Bridge bond and other grant requisitions, encumbrances and payments
Answer finance questions
State Aid Finance works with the State Aid Office, District State Aid Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Legislative Audit, and city and county engineers and accountants.

28. State Aid Finance (continued)
Provide technical assistance:
Advances
Local Agency Bonds
State Aid Payment Requests
Delegated Contract Process (DCP) Payment Requests
Agency Agreements and Payment Requests
CSAH Regular and Municipal Construction Funds
State Transportation Funds
Town Bridge and Special Town Bridge
State Park Road Account
Federal Fund Exchanges
Turnbacks
FHWA Form
Disaster and emergency relief
View a full chart of the roles and responsibilities by employee at

29. State Aid Finance – Changes
State Aid Finance – Changes in Roles and Responsibilities
Candy Harding
Mike Kilanowski
Cindy Degener
John Fox
Acting State Aid Finance Supervisor
Training & Scheduling
Task Force Member
Training
Task Force Member
Fed Aid Agreements
Commissioner’s Order
Disaster and ER
Task Force Member
State Aid
Maintenance Schedule Changes
Annual Report Submittals
Bond Schedules

30. State Aid Finance Changes
State Aid Finance Roles and Responsibilities

31. Questions?
Mitch Rasmussen Cindy Degener State Aid Engineer Acting State Aid Finance Supervisor Kristine Elwood Deputy State Aid Engineer