DOR Updates Guidance for Fall 2020 CPA Trust Fund Distribution

Earlier this year, the Department of Revenue (DOR) issued preliminary guidance on November's CPA state match distribution to help municipalities finalize their FY21 budgets. While the agency has been unable to estimate what the final match will be in November, DOR has announced a revised advisory figure based on collections data through the end of July:

The Department of Revenue is now advising communities to use a state match figure of 17.7% for their FY21 budgets.

It is important to note that this 17.7% figure is based solely on revenue that was collected in the CPA Trust Fund as of July 31st, 2020. DOR has not factored in the additional revenue that will be collected between August and November of this year.

What Could the Final November 15th Match Look Like?

Despite the pandemic, available reports show that monthly CPA collections at the state's Registries of Deeds have not been significantly impacted. Because of the new CPA revenue legislation that went into effect in January, collections each month have averaged out to be approximately 2.5x higher compared to last year.

Assuming this pattern holds for the rest of the year, the Coalition feels it is likely that the base match for November will fall into the range of 25-30% of what communities raise at the local level. That being said, CPA communities are still advised to use DOR's official figure of 17.7% if making an update to their FY21 budgets.

Here's the full text of DOR's updated guidance:

FY2021 Community Preservation State Match - Update on State Match

As of July 31, 2020 collections from the Registry of Deeds indicates that the Community Preservation State Trust Fund balance would allow for a 17.7% base state match for FY2021. Now that communities are beginning to submit local surcharge reports (CP-1 form) we will update the state match estimate in September based on those reports and state collections as of the end of August.

We will provide updated guidance on the state match percentage as additional data becomes available.