Title: Broward County

Summary: Creates Broward County Council for Services for Seniors as independent special district to provide funding for services for seniors; requires approval at referendum to annually levy ad valorem taxes; creates district governing council & provides for its membership, organization, & powers & duties; requires budget & specifies millage rate; requires financial reports; requires referendum.

Full Text:
An act relating to Broward County; creating the Broward County Council for Services for Seniors; providing a definition; creating an independent special district to provide funding for services for seniors; requiring approval at referendum to annually levy ad valorem taxes; requiring the district to comply with statutory requirements related to levying and fixing millage and filing financial or compliance reports; providing construction; creating a governing council for the district; specifying criteria for membership to the council; providing terms of office; requiring the council members to serve without compensation; specifying the powers and duties of the council; requiring the council to appoint a chair and vice chair and elect other officers, identify and assess the needs of seniors, provide training and orientation to new members of the council, make and adopt bylaws and rules for the council's operation and governance, and provide an annual report to the county governing body; requiring the council to maintain minutes of each meeting; requiring the council to prepare a tentative annual budget and compute a millage rate to fund the district; requiring that all tax moneys collected be paid directly to the council by the county tax collector and be deposited in qualified public depositories; requiring certain members to file a surety bond; specifying expenditures of funds; requiring the council to prepare and file quarterly financial reports with the county governing body; prohibiting the council from requiring certain matching funds; providing legislative intent with respect to the use of funds collected by the council; providing for amendment or dissolution of the district by the Legislature; requiring a referendum; providing a ballot statement; providing an effective date. 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 Section 1. Services for seniors; special district.-(1) DEFINITION.-As used in this section, the term "senior" means a person who is at least years of age. (2) SPECIAL DISTRICT.-The Broward County Council for Services for Seniors is hereby created as an independent special district (the "district"), as defined in sections 189.403 and 200.001, Florida Statutes, to provide countywide funding for senior services. The boundaries of such district shall be coterminous with the boundaries of Broward County. (a) The Broward County Board of County Commissioners shall obtain approval, by a majority vote of the electors voting in a referendum, to establish the district having authority to annually levy ad valorem taxes, which shall not exceed 0.5 mills of assessed valuation of all properties subject to ad valorem taxes within the county. The ballot for the referendum must conform to the requirements of section 101.161, Florida Statutes. (b) The district created under this act shall: 1. Levy and fix millage as provided in section 200.065, Florida Statutes. 2. Maintain the same fiscal year as Broward County. 3. Comply with all other statutory requirements of general application that relate to the filing of any financial or compliance reports required under part III of chapter 218, Florida Statutes, or any other report or documentation required by law, including the requirements of sections 189.415, 189.417, and 189.418, Florida Statutes. (c) This act does not prohibit Broward County from exercising such power as provided by general or special law to provide or fund services for seniors. (3) COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP.-(a) The district shall be governed by an 11-member council consisting of: 1. Four permanent positions representing: a. The executive director of the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Broward County or her or his designee who is a director of senior programs. b. The Broward County Director of Human Services or her or his designee who is a director of elderly services. c. The District director of the Department of Children and Family Services or her or his designee. d. The director of the Broward County Health Department or her or his designee. 2. Two members appointed for 2-year terms by a majority of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, one of whom shall represent the board of county commissioners and one of whom shall be a member of and represent the Broward League of Cities. 3. Five members appointed by the Governor and representing, to the greatest extent possible, the cultural diversity of Broward County's population, of which at least one member shall be years of age or older. All members appointed by the Governor must have been residents of Broward County during the previous months. a. Three names shall be submitted to the Governor by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners for each appointment. The Governor shall make a selection within days after receipt or request a new list of candidates. b. The appointees shall be appointed to 4-year terms and may be reappointed for one additional term of office. The length of the terms of the initial appointees shall be adjusted to stagger the terms. c. The Governor may remove any of her or his appointees for cause or upon the written petition of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. If any council member appointed by the Governor resigns, dies, or is removed from office, the vacancy shall be filled by the Governor, using the same method as the original appointment, and the new member shall be appointed for the remainder of the unexpired term. (b) Members of the council shall serve without compensation. (4) COUNCIL POWERS AND DUTIES.-(a) The council shall: 1. Immediately after the members are appointed, elect a chair and vice chair from among their members and elect other officers as deemed necessary by the council. 2. Immediately after the officers are elected, identify and assess the needs of seniors within Broward County and submit a written report to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners that describes: a. The activities, services, and programs that will be provided to seniors and the anticipated schedule for providing those activities, services, and programs. b. The manner in which seniors will be served, including a description of arrangements and agreements that will be made with community organizations, state and local educational agencies, federal agencies, public assistance agencies, the court system, guardianship groups, and other applicable public and private agencies and organizations. c. The special outreach efforts that will be undertaken to provide services to seniors who are at risk, abused, neglected, or ill. d. The manner in which the council will seek and obtain funding for unmet needs. e. The strategy for interagency coordination in order to maximize existing human and fiscal resources. 3. Provide training and orientation to all new members to allow them to perform their duties. 4. Make and adopt bylaws and rules for the council's guidance, operation, governance, and maintenance that are consistent with applicable federal and state laws or county ordinances. 5. Provide an annual written report, to be presented no later than January 1, to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. At a minimum, the annual report must include: a. Information on the effectiveness of activities, services, and programs offered by the district, including cost-effectiveness. b. A detailed anticipated budget for the continuation of activities, services, and programs offered by the district and a list of all sources of funding. c. Procedures used for the early identification of at-risk seniors who need additional or continued services and the methods for ensuring that the additional or continued services are received. d. A description of the degree to which the district's objectives and activities are meeting the goals of this section. e. Detailed information on the district's various programs, services, and activities available to seniors. f. Information on district programs, services, and activities that should be eliminated; programs, services, and activities that should be continued; and programs, services, and activities that should be added to the basic responsibilities of the district. (b) The council may: 1. Provide and maintain in Broward County preventive, developmental, treatment, rehabilitative, and other services for seniors that the council determines are needed for the general welfare of such persons. 2. Allocate and provide funds to other county agencies that operate for the benefit of seniors. 3. Collect information and statistical data and conduct research and assessments that are helpful to the council and the county in determining the needs of seniors in Broward County. 4. Consult and coordinate with other agencies providing services dedicated to the welfare of seniors in order to prevent the duplication of services. 5. Seek grants from state, federal, and local agencies and accept donations from all sources. 6. Lease or buy real estate, equipment, and personal property and construct buildings as needed to carry out the powers, functions, and duties of the district, except that such purchases may not be made or buildings constructed unless paid for with cash on hand or secured by funds deposited in a financial institution. 7. Employ, pay, and provide benefits for any part-time or full-time personnel needed to carry out the powers, functions, and duties of the district. (c) The council shall maintain minutes of each meeting, including a record of all votes cast, and shall make such minutes available to any interested person. (5) DISTRICT BUDGET.-(a) On or before July of each year, the council shall, pursuant to section 189.418, Florida Statutes, prepare a tentative annual budget of the district's expected income and expenditures, including a contingency fund. In addition, the council shall compute a proposed millage rate, not to exceed 0.5 mills of assessed value, as necessary to fund the tentative budget. The council must comply with the requirements of section 200.065, Florida Statutes. (b) After the district's budget is certified and delivered to the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, the budget may not be changed or modified by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners or any other authority. (c) As soon after collection as is reasonably practicable, all taxes collected under this section shall be paid directly to the district by the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division. (d) All moneys received by the district must be deposited in qualified public depositories, as defined in section 280.02, Florida Statutes, with separate and distinguishable accounts established specifically for the district, and may be withdrawn only by checks signed by the chair of the council. 1. Upon taking office, the chair and the other members of the council or the chief executive officer authorized to sign checks shall each file a surety bond in the sum of at least $1,000 for each $1 million, or portion thereof, of the district's annual budget, which shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge of the duties of her or his office. The premium on such bond may be paid by the district as part of the expenses of the council. Other members of the council are not required to give bond or other security. 2. Funds of the district may only be expended by check, except for expenditures of up to $100, which may be made from a petty cash account. All expenditures from petty cash must be recorded on the books and records of the council. District funds, except expenditures from petty cash, may not be expended without prior approval of the council, in addition to the budgeting thereof. (e) Within business days after the expiration of each annual quarter, the council shall prepare and file with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners a financial report that includes: 1. The council's total expenditures for the quarter. 2. The council's total receipts during the quarter. 3. A statement of the funds the council has on hand, has invested, or has deposited at the end of the quarter. 4. The council's total administrative costs for the quarter. (f) The council may not require any service provider to provide additional matching funds as a condition of providing district activities, services, or programs to seniors. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the funds collected pursuant to this section be used to support improvements in services for seniors and that such funds not be used as a substitute for existing resources or for resources that would otherwise be available for such services. Section 2. Powers, duties, responsibilities, and obligations.-Except as specifically provided by this act, the district shall have all powers, duties, responsibilities, and obligations as provided for special independent districts in section 125.901, Florida Statutes, except that the independent district created by this act may only be amended or dissolved by special act of the Legislature. Section 3. Referendum.-The Broward County Board of County Commissioners shall call and the Supervisor of Elections of Broward County shall conduct, in conjunction with the general election to be held on November 6, 2012, a referendum as follows: 258 Creating the Council for Services for Seniors and authorization of taxation. 261 Shall an independent special district known as the Council for Services for Seniors be created by special act of the Legislature with authority to levy each year an ad valorem tax not to exceed one-half of one mill to fund services for seniors? 266 Yes ___ No___ Section 4. This act and the provisions of this act which authorize ad valorem taxation shall take effect only upon approval by majority vote of those qualified electors of Broward County voting in a referendum to be held in conjunction with the general election held on November 6, 2012, in accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections currently in force, except that this section and section of this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.