(1) Upon the final adoption of the budgets as provided in this chapter, the budgets so adopted must regulate expenditures of the county and each special district included within the county budget, and the itemized estimates of expenditures must have the effect of fixed appropriations and may not be amended, altered, or exceeded except as provided in this chapter.
(a) The modified-accrual basis or accrual basis of accounting must be followed for all funds in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
(b) The cost of the investments provided in this chapter, or the receipts from their sale or redemption, may not be treated as expense or income, and the investments on hand at the beginning or end of each fiscal year must be carried as separate items at cost in the fund balances; however, the amounts of profit or loss received on their sale must be treated as income or expense, as applicable.
(2) The board at any time within a fiscal year may amend a budget for that year, and may within the first 60 days of a fiscal year amend the budget for the prior fiscal year, as follows:
(a) Appropriations for expenditures within any fund may be decreased or increased by motion recorded in the minutes if the total appropriations of the fund does not change. The board of county commissioners may establish procedures by which the designated budget officer may authorize budget amendments if the total appropriations of the fund does not change.
(b) Appropriations from the reserve for contingencies may be made to increase the appropriation for any particular expense in the same fund, or to create an appropriation in the fund for any lawful purpose, but expenditures may not be charged directly to the reserve for contingencies.
(c) The reserve for future construction and improvements may be appropriated by resolution of the board for the purposes for which the reserve was made.
(d) A receipt of a nature from a source not anticipated in the budget and received for a particular purpose, including but not limited to grants, donations, gifts, or reimbursement for damages, may, by resolution of the board spread on its minutes, be appropriated and expended for that purpose, in addition to the appropriations and expenditures provided for in the budget. Such receipts and appropriations must be added to the budget of the proper fund. The resolution may amend the budget to transfer revenue between funds to properly account for unanticipated revenue.
(e) Increased receipts for enterprise or proprietary funds received for a particular purpose may, by resolution of the board spread on its minutes, be appropriated and expended for that purpose, in addition to the appropriations and expenditures provided for in the budget. The resolution may amend the budget to transfer revenue between funds to properly account for increased receipts.
(f) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, if an amendment to a budget is required for a purpose not specifically authorized in paragraphs (a)-(e), the amendment may be authorized by resolution or ordinance of the board of county commissioners adopted following a public hearing.
1. The public hearing must be advertised at least 2 days, but not more than 5 days, before the date of the hearing. The advertisement must appear in a newspaper of paid general circulation and must identify the name of the taxing authority, the date, place, and time of the hearing, and the purpose of the hearing. The advertisement must also identify each budgetary fund to be amended, the source of the funds, the use of the funds, and the total amount of each fund’s appropriations.
2. If the board amends the budget pursuant to this paragraph, the adopted amendment must be posted on the county’s official website within 5 days after adoption and must remain on the website for at least 2 years.
(3) Only the following transfers may be made between funds:
(a) Transfers to correct errors in handling receipts and disbursements.
(b) Budgeted transfers.
(c) Transfers to properly account for unanticipated revenue or increased receipts.
(4) All unexpended balances of appropriations at the end of the fiscal year shall revert to the fund from which the appropriation was made, but reserves for sinking funds and for future construction and improvements may not be diverted to other purposes.
(5) Any county constitutional officer whose budget is approved by the board of county commissioners, who has not been reelected to office or is not seeking reelection, shall be prohibited from making any budget amendments, transferring funds between itemized appropriations, or expending in a single month more than one-twelfth of any itemized approved appropriation, following the date he or she is eliminated as a candidate or October 1, whichever comes later, without approval of the board of county commissioners.
History.—s. 6, ch. 6814, 1915; RGS 1529; CGL 2307; s. 5, ch. 26874, 1951; s. 2, ch. 78-157; s. 2, ch. 88-85; s. 1, ch. 93-109; s. 828, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 96-324; s. 12, ch. 2001-252; s. 8, ch. 2011-144; s. 7, ch. 2019-15.