Sarasota County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2019

Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2019 NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The financial statements of Sarasota County, Florida have been prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP) as applied to governmental units. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the accepted standard-setting body for establishing governmental accounting and financial reporting principles. The more significant of the County's accounting policies are described below. A. REPORTING ENTITY Sarasota County, Florida (the County) is a political subdivision of the State of Florida. The people of the County have adopted a Home Rule Charter in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the State of Florida. The Home Rule Charter sets forth a "commission" form of government under which a five member Board of County Commissioners (Commissioners) is elected to serve as the executive and legislative body for the County. The Commissioners appoint a county administrator whose duties include the administration of directives and policies of the Commissioners and who has responsibility for the operation of all business centers and the provision of services under the purview of the Commissioners. The people of the County also elect a Sheriff, a Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller, a Supervisor of Elections, a Tax Collector and a Property Appraiser whose responsibilities and duties are set forth in the Home Rule Charter. The financial statements of the County include all governmental functions and operations controlled by or dependent on the County. Accordingly, the financial statements include with the General Fund all the elected officials referred to above, since the Commissioners are responsible for reviewing and incorporating the annual operating budget for each elected official into the County’s budget. Separate financial statements may be obtained for these constitutional officers through the Sarasota County Finance Department. The financial statements also include various special districts, such as Public Improvement Districts, Street Lighting Districts, Fire and Ambulance Districts, Facility Service Districts and Mosquito Control District (Chapter 61-2815, Laws of Florida), which are reported as blended component units. These County component units, although legally separated entities, are in substance part of the County’s operations and have the same governing board. The financial transactions of these component units are merged in with similar transactions of the County as part of the primary government. There is a financial benefit or burden relationship between the County and these entities. The Englewood Community Redevelopment Area (Englewood CRA) was established on March 31, 1998 (County Resolution 1998-064) to rebuild, conserve, and redevelop the Sarasota County portion of the Englewood community. The Englewood CRA is governed by the Sarasota County Redevelopment Agency (the Agency) which was established on May 26, 1998 (County Resolution 1998-122) in accordance with Chapter 163, Part III, of the Florida Statutes. The Agency’s board consists of the same members as the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners. The Englewood CRA Advisory Board was established on May 26, 1998 (County Resolution 1998-123) consisting of seven appointed members of the community, reporting directly to the Agency, to make recommendations on matters pertaining to the Englewood CRA and its Redevelopment Plan. The Englewood CRA is considered a blended component unit because there is a benefit or burden relationship between the County and the district including County tax revenue funding sources, County debt borrowings and repayments, and personnel resources provided by the County Planning and Development Services Department. The financial transactions of the Englewood CRA are included within the financial statements of the primary government. The Sarasota County Law Library, created by County Ordinance #1972-053, is a private–purpose trust used to account for resources legally held in trust for the maintenance of law library for use by individuals, private organizations and other governments. The Board of Trustees is responsible for the operations of the Law Library. Annually, the Board of County Commissioners appropriate the sum of money derived by the County from the occupational license tax on those persons licensed as members of the Florida bar residing in the County. It is presented as a blended component unit. 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 77