(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 5 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 5 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) The county shall hold a budget workshop at which the board shall perform a budget reduction exercise, identifying strategies to potentially reduce the ensuing fiscal year budget by 10 percent in comparison to the current year budget without compromising essential public services, such as law enforcement or fire services, or legal obligations. The county shall post such exercise on the county’s official website in a portable document format or a similar electronically accessible form that can be downloaded and is independent of the original software and hardware used to create the document, or a link to a recording of the budget workshop. The budget reduction exercise must occur at least 14 days before final budget adoption.
(e) Each tentative budget, adopted tentative budget, and final budget must be posted on the county’s official website. The budget must be posted in a portable document format or a similar electronically accessible form that can be downloaded and may be independent of the original software and hardware used to create the document. At a minimum, the posted budgets must include all of the following information for the proposed fiscal year, the current fiscal year, and the preceding 4 fiscal years:
1. Budget overview and summary, including a narrative analysis that also utilizes graphical illustrations to highlight major points of emphasis and trends.
2. An overall countywide summary of revenue and expenditures.
3. A summary of revenue and expenditures by fund.
4. A summary of expenses by department and division.
5. A summary of expenses by program or function.
6. A summary of expenses related to debt obligations.
7. A summary of expenses related to capital projects.
8. An organizational chart or staffing summary.
9. A summary and analysis of county reserves and fund balances.
(f) 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.
(g) Each county shall prepare a quarterly summary of compensation for all employees funded with appropriations from the county. The summary must include job titles, names, and salaries for each employee. The summary must be posted on the county’s official website in a portable document format or a similar electronically accessible form that can be downloaded and may be independent of the original software and hardware used to create the document.
(h)1. Each county shall publish a budget development calendar for the ensuing fiscal year. The calendar must list, to the extent practicable, all of the following budget-related events:
a. The expected timeframe for county agencies to submit their proposed budget requests, including the name of the county agency or county budget officer to whom such requests must be submitted.
b. The expected timeframe for constitutional county officers listed in s. 1(d), Art. VIII of the State Constitution to submit their tentative budgets to the board of county commissioners under subsection (2).
c. The expected timeframe in which the county property appraiser is expected to submit to the county budget officer his or her estimate of total valuations against which taxes may be levied as described in subsection (1).
d. An expected timeframe for holding any budget workshops at which the board of county commissioners may discuss the ensuing county budget, county agency funding requests, or the budgets of constitutional county officers.
e. The expected timeframe in which the budget public hearings required under s. 200.065 may be held.
f. The expected timeframe by which the county will hold a budget workshop at which the board of county commissioners will perform the budget reduction exercise required by paragraph (d).
2. The budget development calendar must be published on the county’s website on or before January 30 of each calendar year. However, the publication of the budget development calendar may not serve as a basis for bringing any civil or equitable action challenging the adoption of a county’s tentative or final budgets pursuant to s. 129.01 or s. 200.065.
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; s. 2, ch. 2026-161.
