1

State Staffing and Obligations for SLFRF

State Controller Policy

Effective Date: 07/18/2023

Approved by: Robert Jaros, CPA, MBA, JD, Colorado State Controller

Authorities and References

  • §24-30-202(12), C.R.S. (State Controller's Authority)
  • U.S. Department of Treasury Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) FAQs 13.17

Applicability

  • This Policy applies to all entities that received SLFRF through the State of Colorado including Executive agencies, elected officials, institutions of higher education, Judicial and Judicial departments, and Legislative.
  • This Policy applies to the small subset of SLFRF funding/projects that have legislative appropriation spending authority past December 31, 2024 and does not alter appropriation limitations established in statute.

Definitions

  • Obligation – For purposes of this Policy, a State Staffing Obligation includes total personal services costs (base wages, payroll taxes, incentives and fringe benefits/POTS) and related operating costs for positions that are:
    • Funded by SLFRF (generally term-limited positions), and
    • Include duties for SLFRF compliance, reporting, closeout, and in limited circumstances, implementation for programs that that cannot complete implementation before December 31, 2024. 
  • State Staffing – For purposes of this Policy, State Staffing includes positions filled or to be filled by agencies and funded with SLFRF.  State Staffing refers to positions and not individual employees.

Policy

Agencies shall follow the approval and reporting process included in this Policy.  If an agency fails to comply with this Policy, that agency will lose the ability to charge State Staffing for SLFRF.

Time Period

  • This policy includes SLFRF Obligations and spending from the effective date of this policy to December 31, 2026. This policy does not change the appropriation limitations for programs that are provided in statute.  If there is a stricter time limitation on spending in statute, that limitation governs.

Approval Process

  • Agency Submissions and Governor’s Office Approvals
    • Each agency shall submit a staffing plan that includes a list of State Staffing and salaries that will be incurred using SLFRF from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026 to the Governor’s Office for approval.  Note that staffing costs incurred in December 2024 and paid in January 2025 are not covered by this policy.  The procedures for obligating salary costs during this time period will be issued separately.
    • Each agency shall confirm that:
      • There is existing SLFRF to pay for the State Staffing and the State appropriations allow for the use of funds for the time period in which salaries are to be paid using SLFRF, and
      • The State Staffing meet the definition of Obligation in this Policy.
    • The Governor’s Office will review the submissions to ensure staffing plans are sufficient for appropriate fiscal oversight beyond December 2024 and are limited to only essential FTE and will provide comments and approval for each agency’s list of positions and salaries.
    • Agencies not reporting to the Governor may elect to submit their plans for a consistency review.
  • Submission Dates
    • Each agency may submit a list of positions by Project ID with the requested expenditure amount and timeframes utilizing the Request for FTE Beyond ’24 Template for state staffing costs that will be incurred using SLFRF funds from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026. Requests will be considered on a bimonthly cadence.

Reporting

  • Obligation in Gravity, not in the State’s Financial System
    • Each agency shall enter Obligations by Project ID in Gravity in the December 2024 reporting cycle for the time period January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
    • An agency shall not enter Obligations in the State’s financial system.
  • Timing
    • December 2024 Reporting Cycle – Each agency shall submit Obligations by Project ID in Gravity for the time period January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026.
  • Obligations entered in December 2024 are Final
    • Obligations entered in Gravity are final as of the December 2024 reporting cycle.
    • An agency cannot make any changes to Obligations after this date.
    • If an agency does not enter Obligations for State Staffing into Gravity for January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026, that agency will not have available funding for the State Staffing during that period.
    • Unutilized State Staffing funds cannot be used to cover other costs.
  • Reporting for January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026
    • Each agency shall report spending against the Obligations for State Staffing by Project ID for each reporting quarter from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026.

 

 State Controller Policies