Dear Mr. Holley: On behalf of the Washington County Board of County Commissioners, you ask substantially the following question: May a county expend public funds to clean up private rural cemeteries According to your letter, some rural counties in Northwest Florida have in the past assisted in cleaning up rural church cemeteries or other rural family cemeteries. Since the cemeteries are not county-owned property, you ask whether the county may expend funds to clean up such cemeteries. Article...
Dear Mr. Knox: On behalf of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, you ask substantially the following question: May the Board of County Commissioners advance funds to a charter school for the construction of school facilities with the condition that the funds be repaid from educational impact fees collected from a development that will create educational impacts mitigated by the charter school You state that the Board of County Commissioners has voted to award Odyssey Charter...
Dear Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Stillwell, On behalf of your clients you ask the following question: Is the Citrus Memorial Health Foundation, Inc., which leases and operates a hospital owned by the Citrus County Hospital Board, an independent special taxing district, entitled to sovereign immunity under the provisions of section 768.28 , Florida Statutes In accordance with section 13 , Article X , Florida Constitution, the provisions of section 768.28 , Florida Statutes, waives sovereign immunity...
Dear Mr. Newton: On behalf of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, you ask the following questions: 1. May the Broward County Board of County Commissioners retain and use land it acquires for delinquent taxes to construct affordable infill housing, in light of section 197.592 (3), Florida Statutes 2. Does the adoption of a policy and implementation of a program by Broward County for affordable infill housing satisfy the provision in section 197.592 (3), Florida Statutes, that...
Dear Mr. Shepard: You have requested my opinion on substantially the following question: Is the City of Maitland Fire Department authorized by section 316.066 , Florida Statutes, to receive a copy of a written crash report prepared pursuant to that section in order to request reimbursement from the at-fault driver for a fee assessed by the city According to your letter, it is the practice in the City of Maitland for both the police department and the fire department to respond to the scene of...
Dear Ms. Stacy: On behalf of the City of Palm Coast, you ask the following question: Is a municipality required to pay ad valorem tax on newly acquired nonexempt real property for the remainder of the first year of municipal ownership when the seller has paid the prorated tax for the portion of the year the seller owned the property You indicate that the property procured by the city is being used for a municipal purpose. 1 Municipalities are not subdivisions of the state for purposes of...
Dear Mayor Gaul: On behalf of the Melbourne Village Town Commission, you ask substantially the following questions: 1) Would the ad valorem taxes formerly imposed by a municipal service taxing unit for fire protection within the town constitute an increase in operating revenue for purposes of Chapter 74-430 , Laws of Florida, as amended by Chapter 85-381 , Laws of Florida, if such taxes were now imposed by the town since the municipal service taxing unit is no longer providing fire protection...
Dear Ms. Gowdy: You have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: Does simultaneous service on the Melbourne Beach Planning and Zoning Board and the Board of Adjustment violate the dual officeholding prohibition in Article II , section 5 (a), Florida Constitution According to your letter, you have been appointed to serve on two boards for the Town of Melbourne Beach: the Planning and Zoning Board and the Board of Adjustment. Recent discussions have raised questions about...
Dear Mr. Burke: You have requested my opinion on substantially the following question: Do the terms of section 903.286 , Florida Statutes, supercede or repeal the requirements of section 939.17 , Florida Statutes, for purposes of distributing cash bond monies posted prior to July 1, 2005 Chapter 903 , Florida Statutes, governs the admission to bail of persons arrested for criminal offenses. 1 The purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused at trial to answer the charges brought...
Dear Mr. Wynn: As legal representative for the Town of Cypress, you have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: What steps must be taken to reestablish an incorporated municipality that has been inactive for a number of years According to the information you have submitted, a group of citizens from the Town of Cypress is interested in reestablishing the town and electing officials. The Town of Cypress was incorporated in 1903 and the incorporation of the town was...
Dear Mr. Pritt: As legal counsel to the Upper Captiva Fire Protection and Rescue Service District, you have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: Is the Upper Captiva Fire Protection and Rescue Service District authorized to construct, require maintenance of or maintain private roads and pathways that have been damaged or may suffer damage on North Captiva Island The Upper Captiva Fire Protection and Rescue Service District is an independent special fire control...
Dear Mr. Higgs: You ask substantially the following question: In light of the 2005 amendment to section 196.24 , Florida Statutes, may a surviving spouse who is qualified under the statute to carry over her deceased husband's exemption as a partially disabled veteran, and who is herself qualified to receive an exemption as a partially disabled veteran, claim both exemptions under the statute Section 196.24 , Florida Statutes, provides: "Any ex-service member, as defined in s. 196.012 , who is...
Dear Ms. Morris: You ask substantially the following question: Does section 1001.42 (10)(i), Florida Statutes, prohibit the school board from awarding a contract to a corporation in which a school board member is the majority shareholder when the corporation submitted the lowest or best bid under a system of sealed, competitive bidding pursuant to section 112.313 (12)(b), Florida Statutes, and otherwise complied with all other requirements of the Florida Code of Ethics for Public Officers and...
Dear Mr. Preston: On behalf of the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission, you ask substantially the following question: Are records of the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission that are furnished to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in the course of a criminal investigation by the department exempt as criminal intelligence or criminal investigative information pursuant to section 119.071 (2)(c)1., Florida Statutes The Utilities Commission for the City of New Smyrna Beach (UC) was...
Dear Ms. Morris: As Attorney for the Marion County School Board and on behalf of the Marion County Superintendent of Schools, you have asked for my opinion on substantially the following questions: 1. Is a school board authorized to use school capital outlay surtax proceeds collected pursuant to section 212.055 (6), Florida Statutes, to fund the construction of new classroom wings on existing elementary schools when the plan proposed in compliance with section 212.055 (6)(c) references...
Dear Senator Campbell: You ask the following questions: 1. In which branch of state government does the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel function 2. If the Commission on Capital Cases receives a citizen complaint alleging the misuse or misappropriation of state funds in one of the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel offices, to what entity should the Commission forward the matter for investigation and resolution The Commission on Capital Cases (commission) was created to "[R]eview the...
Dear Mr. Smith: On behalf of the School Board of Monroe County, you ask the following question: Are there any limitations on a school board's ability to convey real property pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to section 1013.15 , Florida Statutes According to your letter, the Monroe County School Board has acquired a parcel of developed property located in Marathon, Florida. The school board was interested in obtaining a portion of the property in order to expand...
Dear Ms. McCree: On behalf of a majority of the members of the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, you request an opinion on substantially the following question: May a closed attorney-client session be held pursuant to section 286.011 , Florida Statutes, to discuss settlement negotiations on an issue that is the subject of ongoing mediation pursuant to a partnership agreement between the water management district and others According to your letter, in 1995 the...
Dear Mr. Ellspermann: You have asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: Is the Clerk of Circuit Court authorized to expend funds from the fine and forfeiture fund established by section 142.01 , Florida Statutes, for work performed by county prisoners whether pre- or post-sentence Section 142.01 , Florida Statutes, provides: "There shall be established by the clerk of the circuit court in each county of this state a separate fund to be known as the fine and forfeiture fund...
Dear Ms. Lee: As the representative for the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization, you ask substantially the following question: May the Joint Citizens Advisory Committee comply with Sunshine Law in holding its quarterly meeting by linking simultaneous meetings of citizens' advisory committees in each of its participating counties, networked via computers, conference call, video or some other electronic media technology, so that all members of the committees and the public can...
