(1) Pursuant to s. 200.065, the county property appraiser shall certify to the county budget officer his or her estimate of the total valuations against which taxes may be levied in the entire county and in each district in the county in which taxes are authorized by law to be levied by the board of county commissioners for funds under its control. In preparing the budget, the figure so certified shall be used as the basis for estimating the millage rate required to be levied and shall be noted on each tentative budget and each official budget, on the same line with the amount estimated to be raised from taxes.
(2) On or before June 1 of each year, the sheriff, the clerk of the circuit court and county comptroller, the tax collector subject to a resolution entered into pursuant to s. 145.022(1), and the supervisor of elections shall each submit to the board of county commissioners a tentative budget for their respective offices for the ensuing fiscal year. However, the board of county commissioners may, by resolution, require the tentative budgets to be submitted by May 1 of each year.
(3) The county budget officer, after tentatively ascertaining the proposed fiscal policies of the board for the next fiscal year, shall prepare and present to the board a tentative budget for the next fiscal year for each of the funds provided in this chapter, including all estimated receipts, taxes to be levied, and balances expected to be brought forward and all estimated expenditures, reserves, and balances to be carried over at the end of the year.
(a) The board of county commissioners shall receive and examine the tentative budget for each fund and, subject to the notice and hearing requirements of s. 200.065, shall require such changes to be made as it deems necessary, provided the budget remains in balance. The county budget officer’s estimates of receipts other than taxes, and of balances to be brought forward, may not be revised except by a resolution of the board, duly passed and spread on the minutes of the board. However, the board may allocate to any of the funds of the county any anticipated receipts, other than taxes levied for a particular fund, except receipts designated or received to be expended for a particular purpose.
(b) Upon receipt of the tentative budgets and completion of any revisions, the board shall prepare a statement summarizing all of the adopted tentative budgets. The summary statement must show, for each budget and the total of all budgets, the proposed tax millages, balances, reserves, and the total of each major classification of receipts and expenditures, classified according to the uniform classification of accounts adopted by the appropriate state agency. The board shall cause this summary statement to be advertised one time in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county, or by posting at the courthouse door if there is no such newspaper, and the advertisement must appear adjacent to the advertisement required pursuant to s. 200.065.
(c) The board shall hold public hearings to adopt tentative and final budgets pursuant to s. 200.065. The hearings shall be primarily for the purpose of hearing requests and complaints from the public regarding the budgets and the proposed tax levies and for explaining the budget and any proposed or adopted amendments. The tentative budget must be posted on the county’s official website at least 2 days before the public hearing to consider such budget and must remain on the website for at least 45 days. The final budget must be posted on the website within 30 days after adoption and must remain on the website for at least 2 years. The tentative budgets, adopted tentative budgets, and final budgets shall be filed in the office of the county auditor as a public record. Sufficient reference in words and figures to identify the particular transactions must be made in the minutes of the board to record its actions with reference to the budgets.
(d) By each October 15, the county budget officer shall electronically submit the following information regarding the final budget and the county’s economic status to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research in the format specified by the office:
1. Government spending per resident, including, at a minimum, the spending per resident for the previous 5 fiscal years.
2. Government debt per resident, including, at a minimum, the debt per resident for the previous 5 fiscal years.
3. Median income within the county.
4. The average county employee salary.
5. Percent of budget spent on salaries and benefits for county employees.
6. Number of special taxing districts, wholly or partially, within the county.
7. Annual county expenditures providing for the financing, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of housing that is affordable, as that term is defined in s. 420.0004. The reported expenditures must indicate the source of such funds as “federal,” “state,” “local,” or “other,” as applicable. The information required by this subparagraph must be included in the submission due by October 15, 2020, and each annual submission thereafter.
History.—s. 3, ch. 6814, 1915; RGS 1526; CGL 2304; s. 1, ch. 19115, 1939; s. 3, ch. 26874, 1951; s. 11, ch. 57-1; ss. 12, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 6, ch. 73-349; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 2, ch. 78-303; s. 30, ch. 80-274; s. 2, ch. 82-33; s. 15, ch. 82-226; s. 1, ch. 88-158; s. 2, ch. 89-297; s. 827, ch. 95-147; s. 7, ch. 2011-144; s. 6, ch. 2019-15; s. 1, ch. 2019-56; s. 2, ch. 2020-27.
