Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General has published an advisory for state and local leaders to help them prepare for the next pandemic-level emergency.
The OIG issued the advisory on Dec. 31 to recommend practical actions that public entities should consider today in planning for tomorrow’s emergency.
“It is in your best interest, as an agency leader charged with managing public funds, to take steps now to ensure that when the next crisis does occur, every award dollar is used as intended by policymakers and can be properly accounted for when the inevitable oversight and reporting is conducted.
“Working proactively now to establish effective systems to distribute, account for, and reconcile future emergency dollars will improve your ability to respond in a timely and effective manner, helping to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of public relief funds.”
The advisory covers how to design effective emergency relief programs, and how to design program monitoring and evaluation strategies.
“While no one can predict the exact timing, we can all predict that the next emergency will present itself at some point in the future,” the advisory states. The OIG “looks to partner with Massachusetts state and local government leaders to prepare for the next emergency now.”
When such a crisis occurs, the advisory states, state government, municipalities, quasi-public agencies, and other public entities will be called upon to administer funds, which may require moving funds quickly, “often outside established programs and processes, and with the need to account for and reconcile actions at some future time.”
Developing a framework for an adaptable plan before the next crisis occurs is a critical step for what is “a foreseeable role that state and local governments are asked to play.”
Mike Frieber, director of the OIG’s Special Funding Oversight Division, gave a presentation on this topic during the MMA’s Connect 351 conference on Jan. 24.