§ 218.23, F.S. — Revenue sharing with units of local government

# (1)

To be eligible to participate in revenue sharing beyond the minimum entitlement in any fiscal year, a unit of local government is required to have:(a) Reported its finances for its most recently completed fiscal year to the Department of Financial Services, pursuant to s. 218.32.(b) Made provisions for annual postaudits of its financial accounts in accordance with provisions of law.(c) Levied, as shown on its most recent financial report pursuant to s. 218.32, ad valorem taxes, exclusive of taxes levied for debt service or other special millages authorized by the voters, to produce the revenue equivalent to a millage rate of 3 mills on the dollar based on the 1973 taxable values as certified by the property appraiser pursuant to s. 193.122(2) or, in order to produce revenue equivalent to that which would otherwise be produced by such 3-mill ad valorem tax, to have received a remittance from the county pursuant to s. 125.01(6)(a), collected an occupational license tax or a utility tax, levied an ad valorem tax, or received revenue from any combination of these four sources. If a new municipality is incorporated, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply to the taxable values for the year of incorporation as certified by the property appraiser. This paragraph requires only a minimum amount of revenue to be raised from the ad valorem tax, the occupational license tax, and the utility tax. It does not require a minimum millage rate.(d) Certified that persons in its employ as law enforcement officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1), meet the qualifications for employment as established by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission; that its salary structure and salary plans meet the provisions of chapter 943; and that no law enforcement officer is compensated for his or her services at an annual salary rate of less than $6,000. However, the department may waive the minimum law enforcement officer salary requirement if a city or county certifies that it is levying ad valorem taxes at 10 mills.(e) Certified that persons in its employ as firefighters, as defined in s. 633.102, meet the qualification for employment as established by the Division of State Fire Marshal pursuant to ss. 633.408 and 633.412 and that s. 633.422 has been met.(f) Certified that each dependent special district that is budgeted separately from the general budget of the local governing authority has met the provisions for annual postaudit of its financial accounts in accordance with the provisions of law. Additionally, to receive its share of revenue sharing funds, a unit of local government shall certify to the Department of Revenue that the requirements of s. 200.065, if applicable, were met. The certification shall be made annually within 30 days of adoption of an ordinance or resolution establishing a final property tax levy or, if no property tax is levied, not later than November 1. The portion of revenue sharing funds which, pursuant to this part, would otherwise be distributed to a unit of local government which has not certified compliance or has otherwise failed to meet the requirements of s. 200.065 shall be deposited in the General Revenue Fund for the 12 months following a determination of noncompliance by the department.

# (2)

Any unit of local government which is consolidated as provided by s. 9, Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, shall receive an annual distribution from the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for Counties equal to $6.24 times its population.

# (3)

The distribution to a unit of local government under this part is determined by the following formula:(a) First, the entitlement of an eligible unit of local government shall be computed on the basis of the apportionment factor provided in s. 218.245, which shall be applied for all eligible units of local government to all receipts available for distribution in the respective revenue sharing trust fund.(b) Second, revenue shared with eligible units of local government for any fiscal year shall be adjusted so that no eligible unit of local government receives less funds than its guaranteed entitlement.(c) Third, revenues shared with counties for any fiscal year shall be adjusted so that no county receives less funds than its guaranteed entitlement plus the second guaranteed entitlement for counties.(d) Fourth, revenue shared with units of local government for any fiscal year shall be adjusted so that no unit of local government receives less funds than its minimum entitlement.(e) Fifth, after the adjustments provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), and after deducting the amount committed to all the units of local government, the funds remaining in the respective trust funds shall be distributed to those eligible units of local government which qualify to receive additional moneys beyond the guaranteed entitlement, on the basis of the additional money of each qualified unit of local government in proportion to the total additional money of all qualified units of local government.

# (4)

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1)(c), no unit of local government which was eligible to participate in revenue sharing in the 3 years prior to initially participating in the local government half-cent sales tax shall be ineligible to participate in revenue sharing solely due to a millage or utility tax reduction afforded by the local government half-cent sales tax.

Note.—Former s. 218.22.