Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2023 The Sarasota Health Facilities Authority (the Authority) is a public instrumentality created June 21, 1977 by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners. The Authority exists to facilitate issuing tax-exempt debt for not-for-profit health care organizations. The Sarasota Health Facilities Authority is considered a blended component unit; it shares as a government body the Board of County Commissioners. The County has no responsibility for the debt issues approved by the Authority but there is a financial benefit or burden relationship. The Sarasota Mental Health Care District was created on June 8, 2021 by the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners. The purpose of the Mental Health Care District is to provide resources, programs and facilities to the citizens of the county, devoted to improving the treatment of mental health as they relate to disorders surrounding substance abuse and mental illness. Certain separate legal entities within the County are autonomous organizations with their own governmental powers and constituencies. These entities, which are not included in the financial statements, are as follows: The Cities of Sarasota, Venice and North Port and the Town of Longboat Key - The Cities of Sarasota, Venice and North Port and the Town of Longboat Key are in the boundaries of Sarasota County. Each of these entities has a separately elected governing body, budgeting, accounting, and reporting requirements. Sarasota County School Board - The School Board operates countywide and is completely separate and autonomous. It has five elected board members and a superintendent of schools. It operates under regulations prescribed by the State Board of Education and the Florida Statutes. It levies its own taxes and receives a large part of its income from the State of Florida. Sarasota Memorial Hospital - Sarasota Memorial Hospital is an autonomous entity located within the boundaries of Sarasota County. It is operated by its own elected board and has its own taxing authority. It was created by a special act of the Florida Legislature. B. BASIS OF PRESENTATION The Countys basic financial statements contain three components: government-wide financial statements, fund financial statements, and notes to the financial statements. Government-Wide Financial Statements The government-wide financial statements consist of a statement of net position and a statement of activities. These statements report all of the assets, deferred outflows of resources, liabilities, and deferred inflows of resources, revenues, expenses, gains and losses on all of the nonfiduciary activities of the County, providing a consolidated financial picture of the government as a whole. In most cases, the effect of interfund activity has been removed from these statements. Each statement distinguishes between activities that are supported primarily by taxes and intergovernmental revenues (governmental activities) and activities that are intended to recover all or most of their costs through user fees and charges (business-type activities). The governmental activities of the County include general government, public safety, physical environment, transportation, economic environment, human services, and culture and recreation. The business-type activities of the County include the Utility System, Solid Waste System, Stormwater Utility, and Transit. The statement of net position reports all financial and capital resources and obligations of the County as a whole. The effects of fiduciary funds are not included as a part of this statement. The difference between assets plus deferred outflows of resources and liabilities plus deferred inflows of resources is reported as net position. The statement of activities presents information showing how the Countys net position changed during the fiscal year. Further, this statement demonstrates the degree to which the direct expenses of a given function or segment is offset by program revenues. Direct expenses are those that are clearly identifiable with a specific function or segment. The effect of administrative and support services indirect expense allocations has been eliminated in the government-wide financial statements. Depreciation expense for capital assets that serve all functions is reported as a direct expense of the general government function on the government-wide statement of activities. All interest on 80
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