Managing Your Construction Grant (2016-2017 Round): Other Signatures

What's the Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing Form? And who is the contractor?

This form was developed by the Mass Department of Administration and Finance for a wide variety of uses by corporations and other contractors, so the language can be confusing. Think of it as something like the signature card at the bank – it's a document we keep on file to verify the signatures of people authorized to accept grant funds for the municipality.

• In the table for "Authorized Signatory Names," each person who is authorized by your city or town to accept grant funds should be listed. This might include the Town Accountant, the Town Manager, the Procurement Officer, and even the Library Director – it's a decision made on the municipal level. This list must include the person who signed the contract – the person "authorized to hold the contract with the state on behalf of the municipality"
• The signature on the bottom of the first page should be another official permitting the signer to sign on the behalf of the city/town.
• Because the contractor is the municipality, a notary is almost never needed. The person who signed the contract should sign here, and that person almost always can be verified by the City/Town Clerk. They act as the "Corporate Clerk" on this form.
• If for some reason the main signatory can't be verified by the City/Town Clerk, a notary must certify the signature. Contact Tanesha (tanesha.deane@mass.gov) if you need this additional page of the form.
• This list must be kept up-to-date during the term of the contract.

The contractor is the city or town, not the library. Remember, the state contracts with the municipality to accept and expend MPLCP funds. Even if your library is an independent public library (not a municipal department), the contract is still with the city or town and construction grant funds go into its coffers. The only exception to this is if a library corporation has been designated and empowered by prior legislative action to conduct capital projects. In all cases, the funds must be kept in a separate, interest-bearing account.

If local funding is made up entirely or partially of private money, a letter from the chair of the project's capital campaign, the library's foundation and/or other fundraising entity must be included with the signed contract documents. The letter must verify that:

• that private funds have been secured
• the amount raised
• that the money is available to expend

The signature on the letter must be notarized. 

If you need any help figuring out who signs what, where and when:

Tanesha Deane MBLC Contract Specialist tanesha.deane@mass.gov 1-800-952-7403 x 241