Sarasota County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2019

Sarasota County, Florida Notes to Financial Statements September 30, 2019 For identifying the function to which program revenue pertains, the determining factor for charges for services is the function that generates the revenue. For grants and contributions , the determining factor is the function to which the revenues are restricted . Fund Financial Statements The accounts of the County are organized on the basis of funds, each of which is considered a separate accounting entity. Fund structures, where applicable, have been designed to comply with all requirements of the bond resolutions and regulatory provisions or administrative action. The operations of each fund are accounted for with a separate set of self-balancing accounts comprised of its assets, liabilities, equities, revenues, and expenditures, or expenses, as appropriate. The various funds are grouped into three categories: governmental funds, proprietary funds, and fiduciary funds. Separate financial statements are provided for each of these categories. Major individual governmental funds and major individual enterprise funds are reported as separate columns in the fund financial statements. The remaining governmental funds are aggregated and reported as nonmajor funds. Governmental Funds Governmental Funds focus primarily on the sources, uses, and balances of current financial resources and often have a budgetary orientation. The governmental fund category includes the general fund, special revenue funds, debt service funds, capital project funds, and permanent funds. The County reports the following major governmental funds: The General Fund is the general operating fund of the County. All general tax revenues and other receipts that are not required either legally or by generally accepted accounting principles to be accounted for in other funds are accounted for in the General Fund. The Emergency Services Special Revenue Fund is used to account for the operations of fire and ambulance districts and the emergency 911 center. Revenue consists of assessments to property owners, service charges, and impact fees and is legally restricted to expenditures for the purpose of public safety. The Capital Revenue Programs Special Revenue Fund is used to account for funds collected under the road, park, and library impact fee and infrastructure surtax ordinances. These funds are legally restricted to expenditures for the purpose of culture and recreation and related capital projects as specified in the ordinances. The Infrastructure One Cent Sales Tax Capital Projects Fund is used to account for proceeds of the one-cent voter-approved sales tax and are restricted for general government, road, and park projects. The Debt Proceeds Capital Projects Fund is used to account for capital improvement projects that are financed by the issuance of revenue bonds and are restricted for this specific purpose. Nonmajor Governmental Funds are an aggregation of all nonmajor governmental funds. Proprietary Funds Proprietary Funds focus on the determination of operating income, changes in net position (or cost recovery), financial position, and cash flows. The proprietary fund category includes enterprise and internal service funds. Enterprise Funds may be used to account for any activity for which a fee is charged to external users for goods or services. Activities are required to be reported as enterprise funds if any one of the following criteria is met: (a) the activity is financed with debt that is secured solely by a pledge of the net revenues from fees and charges of the activity; (b) laws or regulations require that the activity’s costs of providing services, including capital costs be recovered with fees and charges, rather than with taxes or similar revenues; or (c) the pricing policies of the activity establish fees and charges designated to recover its costs, including capital costs. Proprietary funds distinguish operating revenues and expenses from non-operating items. Operating revenues and expenses generally result from providing services and producing and delivering goods in connection with a proprietary fund’s principal ongoing operations. The principal operating revenues of the County’s enterprise and internal service funds are charges to customers for sales and services. These operating revenues are pledged for debt service bond covenants. 79