2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook
2020Local Government FinancialInformation HandbookDecember 2020The Florida Legislature’sOffice of Economic and Demographic Research
2020 Local Government Financial Information HandbookDecember 2020Includes Revenue Estimating Conference Resultsand Data through August 2020Prepared by the Florida Legislature’sOffice of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR)with assistance provided by theFlorida Department of Revenue’s Office of Tax Research.
AcknowledgmentsThe Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) is responsible for thepublication of this annual report. This report includes county and municipal revenue estimates calculated by theFlorida Department of Revenue’s Office of Tax Research.Questions pertaining to the estimated distributions of select state-shared revenues and local option taxes toindividual county and municipal governments should be directed to the Department’s Office of Tax Researchat (850) 617-8322.General inquiries or suggested improvements that will make future editions of this publication moreinformative and useful as a resource document are always welcome. Please direct any such comments orquestions to the EDR at the following address.Steven O’Cain, Senior Legislative AnalystOffice of Economic and Demographic Research111 West Madison Street, Suite 574Tallahassee, FL 32399-6588Phone: (850) 487-1402
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchIntroductionThe Local Government Financial Information Handbook is a reference for many of the revenue sourcesavailable to local governments and contains items useful for local government budgeting purposes, includingdescriptions of revenue sources, estimated revenue distributions, and adjusted population estimates used forrevenue-sharing calculations. This publication serves as a guide to understanding constitutional and statutoryprovisions pertaining to these revenue sources; however, questions of legal interpretation should be directed toappropriate legal counsel.The Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) prepared this publicationwith the assistance of the Florida Department of Revenue’s Office of Tax Research. The EDR staff updated thedescriptions of local revenue sources, summarized relevant changes to general law provisions affecting thosesources, and prepared a number of accompanying summary tables. The Office of Tax Research prepared theestimated distributions of numerous state-shared revenues and local option taxes to counties and municipalitiesfor the 2020-21 fiscal year. The reader should note that the estimated distributions presented in this report donot necessarily represent the actual disbursements that each local government will ultimately receive sinceeconomic conditions are subject to future change.The discussion of local government revenue sources in this report is organized as follows:Part One:Part Two:Part Three:Revenue Source Authorized by the ConstitutionRevenue Sources Based on Home Rule AuthorityRevenue Sources Authorized by the LegislatureAdjusted 2019 county and municipal population estimates used for the 2020-21 fiscal year revenue-sharingcalculations are provided in Appendix A. A comparison of the 2018 and 2019 adjusted population estimatesused in the state revenue-sharing calculations for fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 is provided in Appendix B.Finally, a listing of the 2021 federal, state, and county tax rates on motor fuel and diesel fuel by county isprovided in Appendix C.Additional information and data of potential interest to state and local officials can be found on the EDR’swebsite. 1 The EDR utilizes the Local Government–Data A to Z section of the website to supplement this reportby posting files summarizing historical collections or distributions for individual revenue sources.2 These filesare updated annually as the most recent data become available.Section 218.32, F.S., requires county and municipal governments to complete an Annual Financial Report forthe previous fiscal year no later than nine months after the end of the fiscal year and submit the report to theFlorida Department of Financial Services. Using these data, the EDR continues to update expenditure andrevenue profiles of individual county and municipal governments and post these files to the LocalGovernment–Expenditures and Revenues Reported by Florida’s Local Governments section of the website. 3These files serve as another source of local government fiscal data.1. http://edr.state.fl.us/Content/index.cfm2. ta/data-a-to-z/index.cfm3. ta/revenues-expenditures/index.cfm2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbooki
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchTable of ContentsPage No.Part One: Revenue Source Authorized in the Constitution. 1Ad Valorem Tax . 3Part Two: Revenue Sources Based on Home Rule Authority . 9Proprietary Fees. . 11Regulatory Fees . . 13Special Assessments. 15Part Three: Revenue Sources Authorized by the Legislature . 17State-Imposed Fees or Taxes Shared with Local Governments or School DistrictsAlcoholic Beverage License Tax. 19Cardroom Revenues . 21Constitutional Fuel Tax . 23Estimated Distributions . 26County Fuel Tax . 29Estimated Distributions . 31County Revenue Sharing Program - Derives Funding from Transfers of 2.9 Percentof Net Cigarette Tax Collections and 2.0810 Percent of Sales and Use TaxCollections . 33Estimated Distributions . 37Distribution of Sales and Use Taxes to Counties . 39Emergency Management Assistance . 41Enhanced 911 Fee . 43Fuel Tax Refunds and Credits . 47Indian Gaming Revenues . 49Insurance License Tax. 51Intergovernmental Radio Communication Program . 53Local Government Half-Cent Sales Tax Program - Derives Funding from SeparateTransfers of Net Sales Tax Proceeds. 55Estimated Distributions . 62Miami-Dade County Lake Belt Mitigation Fee . 73Mobile Home License Tax . 75Municipal Revenue Sharing Program - Derives Funding from Transfers of 1.3653Percent of Sales and Use Tax Collections and Net Collections from theMunicipal Fuel Tax . 77Estimated Distributions . 82Oil, Gas, and Sulfur Production Tax . 89ii2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchPayments from State Forest Timber Sales to Eligible Fiscally ConstrainedCounty Governments . 91Phosphate Rock Severance Tax . 95State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program . 97Support for School Capital Outlay Purposes . 101Vessel Registration Fee . 103Other Local Revenue SourcesCommunications Services Tax . 107Estimated Distributions . 111Convention Development Taxes . 121Consolidated County Convention Development Tax . 123Charter County Convention Development Tax . 125Special District, Special, and Subcounty Convention Development Taxes . 127Discretionary Surtax on Documents . 129Green Utility Fee . 133Gross Receipts Tax on Commercial Hazardous Waste Facilities . 135Highway Safety Fees – Red Light Cameras . 137Insurance Premium Tax . 139Local Business Tax . 143Panama City and Panama City Beach’s Local Business Taxes on theGross Sales of Retail and Wholesale Merchants . 146Local Discretionary Sales Surtaxes . 147History of Local Discretionary Sales Surtax Levies . 1522021 Local Discretionary Sales Surtax Rates in Florida’s Counties . 158Estimated Distributions . 160Estimation of Realized and Unrealized Tax Revenues . 172Charter County and Regional Transportation System Surtax . 175Local Government Infrastructure Surtax . 179Small County Surtax . 185Indigent Care and Trauma Center Surtax . 187County Public Hospital Surtax . 191School Capital Outlay Surtax . 193Voter-Approved Indigent Care Surtax . 195Emergency Fire Rescue Services and Facilities Surtax . 197Pension Liability Surtax . 201Local Option Food and Beverage Taxes . 203Motor Fuel and Diesel Fuel Taxes (Ninth-Cent and Local Options). 205Ninth-Cent Fuel Tax: Estimated Distributions . 209Local Option Fuel Tax: Estimated Distributions. 211Estimation of Realized and Unrealized Tax Revenues . 219Ninth-Cent Fuel Tax . 2211 to 6 Cents Local Option Fuel Tax . 2231 to 5 Cents Local Option Fuel Tax . 227Municipal Pari-Mutuel Tax . 2292020 Local Government Financial Information Handbookiii
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchMunicipal Parking Facility Space Surcharges . 231Municipal Resort Tax. 233Public Service Tax . 235Tourist Development Taxes . 239History of Local Option Tourist Tax Levies . 244Taxable Sales Reported by Transient Rental Facilities . 2492021 Local Option Tourist Tax Rates in Florida’s Counties. 250Estimation of Realized and Unrealized Tax Revenues . 2521 or 2 Percent Tax . 255Additional 1 Percent Tax . 259Professional Sports Franchise Facility Tax . 263High Tourism Impact Tax . 265Additional Professional Sports Franchise Facility Tax . 269Tourist Impact Tax . 271Appendix A: Adjusted 2019 Population Estimates for Florida’s Counties and MunicipalitiesUsed in the FY 2020-21 State Revenue-Sharing Calculations . 273Appendix B: Comparison of 2018 and 2019 Adjusted Population Estimates Used forFY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21 State Revenue-Sharing Calculations . 285Appendix C: 2021 Federal, State, and County Tax Rates on Motor Fuel and Diesel Fuelin Florida’s Counties . 299iv2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchPart One:Revenue Source Authorized in the State ConstitutionThe ability of local governments to raise revenue for their operations is limited by the state constitution.No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law. No state ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon realestate or tangible personal property. All other forms of taxation shall be preempted to the state exceptas provided by general law. 1Counties, school districts, and municipalities shall, and special districts may, be authorized by law tolevy ad valorem taxes and may be authorized by general law to levy other taxes, for their respectivepurposes, except ad valorem taxes on intangible personal property and taxes prohibited by thisconstitution. 2These constitutional provisions expressly authorize counties, municipalities, and school districts to levy advalorem taxes. A discussion of the ad valorem tax is the subject of Part One of this report. These constitutionalprovisions also preserve legislative discretion for the levy of all other taxes by requiring general lawauthorization.However, not all local government revenue sources are taxes requiring general law authorization. When acounty or municipal revenue source is imposed by ordinance, the judicial question is whether the charge meetsthe legal sufficiency test for a valid assessment or fee. As long as the charge is not deemed a tax, the impositionof the assessment or fee by ordinance is within the constitutional and statutory home rule powers of county andmunicipal governments. These home rule revenue sources are addressed in Part Two of this report.If the charge fails the legal sufficiency test for a valid assessment or fee, it is deemed a revenue sourcerequiring general law authorization. Part Three of this report addresses local government revenue sourcesauthorized by general law.1. Article VII, s. 1(a), Fla. Const.2. Article VII, s. 9(a), Fla. Const.2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook1
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchThis page was intentionally left blank.22020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchAd Valorem TaxArticle VII, Section 9, Florida ConstitutionChapters 192-197 and 200, Florida StatutesSummary:The ability of local governments to raise revenue for governmental operations is limited by the stateconstitution.Counties, school districts, and municipalities shall, and special districts may, be authorized by law tolevy ad valorem taxes and may be authorized by general law to levy other taxes, for their respectivepurposes, except ad valorem taxes on intangible personal property and taxes prohibited by thisconstitution. 1Ad valorem taxes, exclusive of taxes levied for the payment of bonds and taxes levied for periods notlonger than two years when authorized by vote of the electors who are the owners of freeholds thereinnot wholly exempt from taxation, shall not be levied in excess of the following millages upon theassessed value of real estate and tangible personal property: for all county purposes, ten mills; for allmunicipal purposes, ten mills; for all school purposes, ten mills; for water management purposes forthe northwest portion of the state lying west of the line between ranges two and three east, 0.05 mill;for water management purposes for the remaining portions of the state, 1.0 mill; and for all otherspecial districts a millage authorized by law approved by vote of the electors who are owners offreeholds therein not wholly exempt from taxation. A county furnishing municipal services may, to theextent authorized by law, levy additional taxes within the limits fixed for municipal purposes. 2With the exception of the ad valorem tax and constitutionally and statutorily authorized home-rule revenuesources (i.e., fees and assessments), local governments are dependent on the Legislature for the authority tolevy other forms of taxation. Therefore, the relative importance of the ad valorem tax as a local governmentrevenue source is increased.To summarize, local governments may levy ad valorem taxes subject to the following limitations.1.2.3.4.5.Ten mills for county purposes.Ten mills for municipal purposes.Ten mills for school purposes.A millage fixed by law for a county furnishing municipal services.A millage authorized by law and approved by voters for special districts.As mentioned, the state constitution provides two exceptions to the ten-mill cap. The exceptions include avoted debt service millage and a voted millage not to exceed a period of two years. Additionally, no propertymay be subject to more than twenty mills of ad valorem tax for municipal and county purposes without electorapproval, regardless of the property’s location, under the state constitution. Duval County-City of Jacksonvilleis a consolidated government; therefore, it has a twenty-mill cap since it operates as both a county andmunicipal government.1. Article VII, s. 9(a), Fla. Const.2. Article VII, s. 9(b), Fla. Const.2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook3
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchCounty Millages:County government millages are composed of four categories of millage rates. 31. County general millage is the nonvoted millage rate set by the county’s governing body.2. County debt service millage is the rate necessary to raise taxes for debt service as authorized by a voteof the electors pursuant to Article VII, s. 12, Fla. Const.3. County voted millage is the rate set by the county’s governing body as authorized by a vote of theelectors pursuant to Article VII, s. 9(b), Fla. Const.4. County dependent special district millage is set by the county’s governing body pursuant to s.200.001(5), F.S., and added to the county’s millage to which the district is dependent. A dependentspecial district is defined as a special district that meets at least one of four criteria specified in law. 4County Furnishing Municipal Services:General law implements the constitutional provision authorizing a county furnishing municipal services to levyadditional taxes within the limits fixed for municipal purposes via the establishment of municipal servicetaxing or benefit units. 5 The distinction between a municipal service taxing unit (MSTU) and a municipalservice benefit unit (MSBU) is that a MSTU is the correct terminology when the mechanism used to fund thecounty services is derived through taxes rather than service charges or special assessments (i.e., MSBU). TheMSTU may encompass the entire unincorporated area, a portion of the unincorporated area, or all or part of theboundaries of a municipality. However, the inclusion of municipal boundaries within the MSTU is subject tothe consent by ordinance of the governing body of the affected municipality given either annually or for a termof years.The creation of a MSTU allows the county’s governing body to place the burden of ad valorem taxes uponproperty in a geographic area that is less than countywide in order to fund municipal-type services. The MSTUis used in a county budget to separate those ad valorem taxes levied within the taxing unit itself to ensure thatthe funds derived from the tax levy are used within the boundaries of the taxing unit for the contemplatedservices. If ad valorem taxes are levied to provide these municipal services, counties may levy up to ten mills.6Municipal Millages:Municipal government millages are composed of four categories of millage rates. 71. Municipal general millage is the nonvoted millage rate set by the municipality’s governing body.2. Municipal debt service millage is the rate necessary to raise taxes for debt service as authorized by avote of the electors pursuant to Article VII, s. 12, Fla. Const.3. Municipal voted millage is the rate set by the municipality’s governing body as authorized by a vote ofthe electors pursuant to Article VII, s. 9(b), Fla. Const.4. Municipal dependent special district millage is set by the municipality’s governing body pursuant to s.200.001(5), F.S., and added to the municipality’s millage to which the district is dependent andincluded as municipal millage for the purpose of the ten-mill cap.3.4.5.6.7.4Section 200.001(1), F.S.Section 189.012(2), F.S.Section 125.01(1)(q), F.S.Section 200.071(3), F.S.Section 200.001(2), F.S.2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchSchool District Millages:As previously stated, the state constitution restricts the levy of nonvoted ad valorem tax levies for schoolpurposes to ten mills. 8 The voted levies, which are constitutionally available to counties and municipalities aswell as school districts, do not count toward the ten-mill cap. School district millage rates are composed of fivecategories. 91. Nonvoted required school operating millage necessary to meet Required Local Effort (RLE) isdetermined by the Commissioner of Education and set by the school board. For operating purposes, itis imposed pursuant to s. 1011.60(6), F.S., and reflects the minimum financial effort required forsupport of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) as prescribed in the current year’s GeneralAppropriations Act.2. Nonvoted discretionary school operating millage is the rate set by the school board for operatingpurposes other than the required local effort millage rate imposed pursuant to s. 1011.60(6), F.S., andthe nonvoted capital improvement millage rate imposed pursuant to s. 1011.71(2), F.S. TheLegislature annually prescribes in the appropriations act the maximum amount of millage a districtmay levy. 103. Nonvoted district school capital improvement millage is the rate set by the school board for capitalimprovements as authorized in s. 1011.71(2), F.S. General law limits the maximum rate at 1.5 mills.11However, a district school board is authorized to levy an additional millage of up to 0.25 mills forfixed capital outlay under certain circumstances. 124. Voted district school operating millage is the rate set by the school board for current operatingpurposes as authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to Section 9(b), Art. VII, State Constitution.5. Voted district school debt service millage is the rate set by the school board as authorized by a vote ofthe electors pursuant to Section 12, Art. VII, State Constitution.The Florida Department of Education’s 2019-20 Funding for Florida School Districts, provides an overviewof school district funding and discussion of school district millages. 13Independent Special District Millages:Independent special district millages are the rates set by the district’s governing body, and the following issuesmust be addressed. 141. Whether the millage authorized by a special act is approved by the electors pursuant to Article VII, s.9(b), Fla. Const.; authorized pursuant to Article XII, s. 15, Fla. Const.; or otherwise authorized.2. Whether the tax is to be levied countywide, less than countywide, or on a multicounty basis.8. Counties, municipalities, and school districts may levy taxes in excess of the ten-mill limit to pay bonds or for periods no longerthan two years when authorized by a vote of the electorate, pursuant to Article VII, s. 9(b), Fla. Const. In addition, statutorilyauthorized voted millage lasting no more than four years may be levied under the ten-mill limitation, pursuant to s. 1011.71(9), F.S.9. Section 200.001(3), F.S.10. Section 1011.71(1), F.S.11. Section 1011.71(2), F.S.12. Section 1011.71(3), F.S.13. Fefpdist.pdf14. Section 200.001(4), F.S.2020 Local Government Financial Information Handbook5
Office of Economic and Demographic ResearchAdjustments to the Tax Base:The ad valorem taxable base is the fair market value of locally assessed real estate, tangible personal property,and state assessed railroad property, less certain exclusions, differentials, exemptions, credits and deferrals. 15Intangible personal property is excluded because it is separately assessed and taxed by the state. Exclusions arespecific types of property constitutionally or statutorily removed from ad valorem taxation. Differentials arereductions in assessments that result from a valuation standard other than fair market value. Exemptions aredeductions from the assessed value that are typically specified as a dollar amount (e.g., homestead exemptionof 25,000). Credits are deductions from the tax liability of a particular taxpayer and may take the form ofallowances, discounts, and rebates. Deferrals allow for changes in the timing of payments but do not reduce thetaxpayer’s overall tax liability.General Law Amendments:The list below represents the legislation enacted during the 2020 Regular Legislative Session that amendedprovisions in one or more of the following chapters of the Florida Statutes, which address the ad valorem tax,its administration, and other relevant issues: Chapter 192, general provisions of taxation; Chapter 193,assessments; Chapter 194, administrative and judicial review of property taxes; Chapter 195, administration ofproperty assessments; Chapter 196, exemptions; Chapter 197, tax collections, sales, and liens; and Chapter200, determination of millage. These chapter laws are available via the Department of State’s Division ofElections website. 16Chapter Law #2020-22020-102020-272020-1402020-1662020-175202
The Local Government Financial Information Handbook is a reference for many of the revenue sources available to local governments and contains items useful for local government budgeting purposes, including descriptions of revenue sources, estimated revenue distributions, and adjusted population estimates used for revenue-sharing calculations.
Office of Economic and Demographic Research 2015 Local Government Financial Information Handbook i Introduction The Local Government Financial Information Handbook is a reference for many of the revenue sources available to local governments and contains items useful for local government budgeting purposes, including
Many hard working local government employees in local government have already lost their jobs because of the coalition government's cuts to local authority funding. With more cuts on the horizon, local government workers face more privatisation, pay freezes and redundancies. UNISON opposes more job cuts in local government: making .
O ce of Local Government Contents FOREWORD 2 INTRODUCTION 4 5 key things every councillor needs to know 5 SECTION 1 - AN OVERVIEW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NSW 8 1.1 Local government 8 1.2 Local government reform 9 1.3 The principles for local government 10 1.4 A council's structure 11 1.5 Services and functions that councils provide 12
Programme will address weaknesses in local government. Local government reform will also be the subject of a forthcoming Spotlight (No. 9, 2012) entitled Local Government Reform and Localism in Irish Politics. L&RS published a Spotlight on Financing Local Government (2010) and hosted a Seminar Finance and local government
EU Tracker Questions (GB) Total Well Total Badly DK NET Start of Fieldwork End of Fieldwork 2020 15/12/2020 16/12/2020 40 51 9-11 08/12/2020 09/12/2020 41 47 12-6 02/12/2020 03/12/2020 27 57 15-30 26/11/2020 27/11/2020 28 59 13-31 17/11/2020 18/11/2020 28 60 12-32 11/11/2020 12/11/2020 28 59 12-31 4/11/2020 05/11/2020 30 56 13-26 28/10/2020 29/10/2020 29 60 11-31
GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL REPORTING MANUAL 2020-21 reports. The rest of this Manual gives guidance on how to apply them to annual reports and accounts. 2.4 Purposes of government financial reporting 2.4.1 The four purposes of government financial reporting are : to maintain and ensure parliamentary control of government spending, enabling, in
urban and local government are governed by state-level legislation, which determines local tax-raising powers. In 2017 44.8% of councillors were women and in 2020/2021 transfers to local government were 3.3% of total government expenditure. 1. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT India is a federal republic with a bicameral parliament comprising a lower house,
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) Relief Fund provides support and temporary financial assistance to members who are in need. AGMA contracts with The Actors Fund to administer this program nationally as well as to provide comprehensive social services. Services include counseling and referrals for personal, family or work-related problems. Outreach is made to community resources for .
