§ 2-241. Budget.

(a)

General provisions. All county budgets shall be prepared on an annual basis, for each fiscal year, in accordance with applicable Florida general law, including specifically F.S. chs. 129 and 200, and applicable provisions of the Florida Administrative Code.

(b)

Provisions specific to Volusia County. The following provisions are supplemental to Florida general law concerning the preparation, adoption, and amendment of budgets for county governments.

(1)

Nomenclature. For purposes of this section, the following statutory terms and commonly used terms shall have the designations stated herein:

a.

County departments shall be designated services groups.

b.

A service center is a combination of several specified service groups.

c.

County divisions shall be designated activities.

d.

County commission shall be designated the county council.

e.

County budget officer shall be designated the county manager.

(2)

Budget control. The county manager may establish budget control at the fund or the service group level. Unless otherwise established, budget control will be at the activity level.

(3)

Data compilation.

a.

The tentative budget specified in F.S. § 129.03(3) shall be compiled from detailed information obtained from the various service centers, service groups, activities, offices, agencies, and special and municipal taxing districts on uniform forms, which forms may be furnished either electronically, or by paper, by management and budget.

b.

All service centers, service groups, activities, offices, agencies, and special and municipal taxing districts of the county government shall furnish to management and budget all information that it may request or need for the preparation of the budget.

(4)

Preliminary budget formulation. The county council may hold workshop meetings to enable the county manager to tentatively ascertain the proposed fiscal policies of the council for the ensuing fiscal year. (F.S. § 129.03(3))

a.

The county manager may, either before or after such workshop meetings prepare a proposed budget preliminary to the preparation of the tentative budget specified in F.S. § 129.03(3), along with a budget message describing the important features of the proposed budget, including explanations of changes in county fiscal policies.

b.

Following the foregoing consideration of the council's fiscal policies, the county manager shall prepare and present to the council a tentative budget, to commence the formal public hearing and budget adoption process, pursuant to F.S. § 129.03(3).

(5)

Budgeting for capital projects and grants. Revenues and appropriations of capital projects and federal, state or local grants shall be estimated for the total project, even if the total project spans more than one fiscal period. The funding for these projects and grants will be made up of prior years' cash balances, current revenues, future revenues, and bond or note proceeds.

(6)

Budget amendments. The following provisions are supplemental to the provisions of F.S. § 129.06, regarding amendments to the budget.

a.

Supplemental appropriations. If the county manager certifies that there are available or projected revenues for appropriation in excess of those estimated in the budget, the county council may, following a public hearing satisfying the notice requirements of F.S. § 129.06(2)(f), make supplemental appropriations by ordinance or resolution, for that year up to the amount of the excess. Copies of the proposed budget amendment shall be made available for public inspection. The budget amendment and accompanying resolution will be docketed on the consent agenda, or as a time certain on the council agenda for consideration by the county council. All interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard on the proposed budget amendment resolution during its consideration by the county council.

b.

Emergency appropriations. To meet a public emergency affecting life, health, welfare, property, or the public peace, the county council may make emergency appropriations. Such appropriations may be made by an emergency ordinance or resolution in accordance with applicable law to the extent that there are no available unappropriated revenues to meet such appropriations. The county council may, by such emergency ordinance or resolution, authorize the issuance of emergency notes which may be renewed from time to time; but the emergency notes and renewals in any fiscal year shall be paid not later than the last day of the fiscal year succeeding that in which the emergency appropriations were made.

c.

Reductions of appropriations. If at any time during the fiscal year it appears probable to the county manager that the available revenues will be insufficient to meet the amount appropriated, the county manager shall certify to the county council without delay indicating the estimated amount of the deficit, any remedial action taken and recommendations as to other steps to be taken. The county council shall then take such further action as it deems necessary to prevent a budget deficit.

d.

Transfers of appropriations.

1.

Transfers of appropriations up to and including $25,000.00 among activities within a service group need only the service group director's or his or her designee's approval as long as the transfer is not between funds. Transfers over $25,000.00 will require the approval of the service center director. Transfers of any amount between service groups within a service center will require the approval of the service center director. Transfers of any amount between two service centers will require the approval of both service center directors, or the county manager or chief operating officer. Transfers of any amount between funds will require county council approval. The supervisor of elections, property appraiser, sheriff, chief judge, county attorney, and internal auditor shall have the same transfer authority as the service center director for their budgets.

2.

The budget may be amended to create budgeted transfers between funds for any purpose that is not prohibited by law restricting transfer of funds if authorized by resolution or ordinance of the county council adopted subsequent to an advertised public hearing. The advertised notice of public hearing shall satisfy the requirements of F.S. § 129.06(2)(f).

3.

Pursuant to F.S. § 129.06(3)(b), monies transferred between funds for the same purpose (i.e., to properly account for expenditures) may be accomplished by resolution adopted by the county council without public hearing, as provided in F.S. § 129.06(2)(d), (e).

e.

Outstanding indebtedness appropriations. An adjustment to appropriations shall be made to provide for the payment of encumbrances which have been incurred in the prior fiscal year, but remained outstanding at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year. Such adjustments to appropriations shall not require county council approval. Increases or decreases in debt service and lease purchase payments attributable to interest rate variations, costs associated with county council approved refinancing agreements, or early debt retirement may be accomplished administratively by the county manager or his or her designee.

f.

Limitations' effective date.

1.

No appropriation may be reduced below the amount required by law, or legal covenant to be appropriated, or by more than the amount of the unencumbered balance thereof.

2.

The supplemental and emergency appropriations and reductions authorized by this subsection may be made effective immediately upon adoption.

(7)

Lapse of appropriations. Every appropriation except an appropriation for capital projects and federal, state and local grants shall lapse at the close of the fiscal year to the extent that it has not been carried forward. Appropriations for capital projects and federal, state or local grants shall continue in force until the purposes for which they were made have been accomplished or abandoned; the purpose of any appropriation shall be deemed abandoned if three years pass without any disbursement or encumbrance of the appropriation unless reappropriated by the county council.

(8)

Internal service funds.

a.

Establishment. Internal service funds may be established to account for the provision of goods and services by one service group to other service groups on a break-even cost reimbursement basis when the establishment of such funds will attain greater economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the acquisition and distribution of common goods or services utilized by several or all service groups.

b.

Relation to budget. Appropriations in the various user service groups will constitute an indirect budget ceiling on the internal service fund activities. Appropriations in internal service funds may be increased with county manager, or his or here designee's, approval based on increases in the indirect budget ceiling of user service groups.

c.

Disposition of retained earnings. It will be the intent of all internal service funds to break even, but in the event a profit or loss should occur, it can be disposed of by crediting or charging the billed service groups in accordance with their usage. Actual or projected retained earnings may also be used to lower internal service charges in the ensuing fiscal year, rather than crediting service group expenditures in the prior fiscal year. This will apply to all internal service funds with the exception of the insurance fund. Before there can be any transfer of retained earnings from the insurance fund, the county manager will present a financial report of the insurance fund to the county council along with a proposed transfer of funds. Council will then review the county manager's proposal and approve or disapprove, with or without modification, such transfer.

(9)

Compliance with Florida law. This section shall comply with F.S. chs. 129 and 200 and is supplemental thereto, but in all cases, those statutes shall control.

(Ord. No. 96-27, §§ I, II, 10-10-96)

State law reference

County annual budget, F.S. ch. 129.

Editor's note

Ord. No. 96-27, adopted Oct. 10, 1996, repealed § 2-241 in its entirety. Formerly, § 2-241 pertained to budgets and derived from §§ I—VIII of Ord. No. 80-15, adopted April 17, 1980; §§ I—XIII of Ord. No. 84-7, adopted May 17, 1984; §§ I—XIII of Ord. No. 86-12, adopted Sep. 4, 1986; and §§ I—IV of Ord. No. 88-8, adopted Feb. 18, 1988. Ord. No. 96-27 also added a new § 2-241 as herein set out.

Charter reference

Budget, § 1102 et seq.