Formal contracts are needed for all funding requests other than for telecommunications services provide under tariff or for certain month-to-month billing arrangements. So far, the only SLD-approved examples of month-to-month services are Internet access, cellular/PCS and paging.

For contract services, applicants should pay strict attention to the Contract Award Date (Item 18). It must be on or after the Allowable Vendor Selection/Contract Date (Item 17) determined by the Form 470 in which the associated service requirement was posted. It must also be on or before the date the Form 471 is signed and submitted.

The Service Start Date (Item 19a) refers to the start of service in the upcoming funding year, not when service may have started years before. For most services in Funding Year 2005, this will be 07/01/2005. The Service End Date (Item 19b) applies only for tariffed or month-to-month services. Similarly, it refers to the end of service in the funding year, most typically 06/30/2006.

Every attempt should be made to make sure that contracts do not expire before the end of the upcoming year. Funding is only provided for services received prior to the Contract Expiration Date (Item 20) or the Service End Date (Item 19b).

Eligible and ineligible services must be carefully differentiated. Applicants not sure of the eligibility of a certain service should file for the questionable portion as a separate funding request.