Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...inequitable, and probably unconstitutional local law method of paying elected county officers.”).6 Moreover, it is the counties that pay these salaries, see Fla. 6 One Florida court has explained the evolution of the salary system in these terms: [Section 30.49] provides machinery for budgeting the fiscal affairs of the sheriff of each county....

...In 1957 the legislature abolished the fee system and placed the sheriff on a salary when it enacted the County Officials Compensation Act. In 1959 the 1957 statute was drastically amended and the precursor to the present § 30.49 was adopted....

...not uniform throughout the state, this defect was remedied by the 1961 legislature which enacted a separate statute establishing the compensation of county officials including the sheriff’s salary. [Section 30.49] still contained the procedure for setting the budget 19 Stat. § 30.49, and, as discussed above, the counties may relieve themselves of that burden by abolishing the office of the sheriff altogether. State law further prescribes a uniform schedule of fees that sheriffs of all counties must collect for docketing and service of process....

...sts. Under the present system all fees collected by the sheriff are deposited in the county treasury and the sheriff’s budget is established independent of the fees collected, pursuant to the provisions of § 30.49. Weaver v....

...2d 295, 297 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1971) (“Under the present system all fees collected by the sheriff are deposited in the county treasury and the sheriff’s budget is established independent of the fees collected, pursuant to the provisions of § 30.49.”). Nevertheless, as when Hufford was decided, the State of Florida retains an element of control over the Sheriff’s funding in that (1) the sheriff may appeal the budget allocated to him by the county to a state administrative commission; and (2) the state sets the sheriff’s salary. Florida law requires the sheriff to submit to the board of county commissioners “a proposed budget of expenditures for carrying out the powers, duties, and operations of office” each year. Fla. Stat. § 30.49(1); see also id....

...county commissioners’ preparation of county budget).8 The board of county commissioners or the county’s budget commission “may amend, modify, increase, or reduce any or all items of expenditure in the proposed budget and shall approve such budget.” Fla. Stat. § 30.49(4)....

...will hold a budget hearing and submit its recommendations to the Commission. The Commission then may approve or amend the budget in part or as a whole. “The budget as approved, amended, or modified by the Administration Commission shall be final.” Id. § 30.49(5). The county thereafter may not alter the appropriations made to the sheriff’s office except upon request of the sheriff. Id. § 30.49(8). The county must then pay out the sheriff’s budget in monthly installments. 8 The sheriff must categorize all proposed expenditures as either (1) “General law enforcement”; (2) “Corrections and detention alternative facilities”; or (3) “Court services, excluding service of process.” Id. § 30.49(2)(a)....

...Within each of those categories, each expenditure must be itemized and classified as either (1) “Personal services”; (2) “Operating expenses”; (3) “Capital outlay”; (4) “Debt service”; or (5) “Nonoperating disbursements and contingency reserves.” Fla. Stat. § 30.49(2)(b)....

...The sheriff must also submit to the board “for consideration and inclusion in the county budget, as deemed appropriate by the county, requests for construction, repair, or capital improvement of county buildings operated or occupied by the sheriff.” Id. § 30.49(2)(c). Section § 30.49's budget-setting procedures, however, “are not jurisdictional but are directory.” Weaver, 245 So. 2d at 297 (holding that board of county commissioners still had power to reduce sheriff’s budget more than 31 days after it was submitted, even though § 30.49 provides for a 31-day limit). 27 Id....

...ccasions found, present conditions were referred to and criticized by these reports. Plaintiffs further introduced unequivocal evidence that despite a budgetary appeal procedure available to the Sheriffs in the State of Florida pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 30.49, Defendant Sheriff Carson has never utilized this appeal procedure....

...ccasions found, present conditions were referred to and criticized by these Reports. Plaintiffs further introduced unequivocal evidence that despite a budgetary appeal procedure available to the sheriffs in the State of Florida pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 30.49, defendant Sheriff Carson has never utilized this appeal procedure....

...(2000) ("Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or by deputy, shall: (a) Execute all process of the Supreme Court, circuit courts, county courts, and boards of county commissioners of this state, to be executed in their counties."). [10] See § 30.49, Fla....

...[4] These sections appeared in the Florida Statutes as sections 30.48 and 30.54, F.S.A. [5] Chapter 59-216 repealed Sections 30.47 (which described the legislative intent to abolish the fee system) and 30.54 (which exempted some 18 counties from the operation of Chapter 57-368). The 1959 act also amended § 30.49(3) to conform with the changes made in other subsections....

...jail, this conduct is not protected by the sovereign immunity doctrine enunciated in Commercial Carrier Corporation v. Indian River County, supra . This conduct would be an operational, not a planning function. *125 In so ruling we are cognizant of Section 30.49, Florida Statutes (1979)....

...McCORD, Judge. Petitioner seeks certiorari from final action of the Administration Commission in relation to the budget of respondent Sheriff of Broward County. The administrative proceedings leading up to the petition for certiorari were pursuant to § 30.49, Florida Statutes, as amended by Chapter 74-103, Laws of Florida, 1974, which became effective on July 1, 1974....

...tuted by filing a petition in the District Court of Appeal, it appears that such is the method now to be followed regardless of the nature of the administrative action. Since the effective date of Chapter 74-103, Laws of Florida, 1974, which amended § 30.49, Florida Statutes, the review of sheriffs' budgets as fixed by a board of county commissioners or budget commission is to the Administration Commission. In the case sub judice, the hearing by the Department of Administration and its action must be considered as only advisory to the Administration Commission and it was not bound in any way by the action of the Department of Administration. § 30.49(5), Florida Statutes, 1974, provides: "Upon receipt of the petition, the secretary of administration shall provide for a budget hearing at which the matters presented in the petition and the reply shall be considered....

...tion...." Upon consideration of the record in this cause and the briefs and arguments of counsel, we find no departure by the Administration Commission from the essential requirements of law. We further find no merit to petitioner's contentions that § 30.49, Florida Statutes, is unconstitutional. See Weaver v. Heidtman, Fla. App. (1st), 245 So.2d 295. Petition for review dismissed. RAWLS, C.J., concurs. BOYER, J., concurring specially. BOYER, Judge (concurring specially). I concur that the contention that F.S. 30.49 is unconstitutional is without merit and I further concur in dismissal of the petition for review.

...We discern in these *1342 statutes no intent for state officials- to control or supervise the sheriff. C. Funding Source. County taxes fund the sheriffs budget, which the county pays in monthly installments. Any excess at the year’s end returns to the county. See §§ 30.49, 30.50, Fla.Stat. (1987). The county also pays the sheriffs salary. See § 30.50, Fla.Stat. (1987). While the state provides an appeals process, it does not attempt to fund the sheriffs activities. See § 30.49, Fla.Stat....

...The respective counties of this State do not possess any indicia of sovereignty; they are creatures of the legislature, created under Art. VIII, Sec. 1, of the State Constitution, F.S.A., and accordingly are subject to the legislative prerogatives in the conduct of their affairs. The contested statute, F.S. § 30.49, F.S....

...e sheriff’s office. In 1957 the legislature abolished the fee system and placed the sheriff on a salary when it enacted the County Officials Compensation Act. 3 In 1959 the 1957 statute was drastically amended and the precursor to the *297 present § 30.49 was adopted....

...lared unconstitutional because they were not uniform throughout the state, 5 this defect was remedied by the 1961 legislature which enacted a separate statute establishing the compensation of county officials 6 including the sheriff’s salary. F.S. § 30.49, F.S....

...t, to the contrary, encouraged volume arrests. Under the present system all fees collected by the sheriff are deposited in the county treasury and the sheriff’s budget is established independent of the fees collected, pursuant to the provisions of § 30.49. Florida Statutes § 30.49, F.S.A....

...for submission of sheriff’s budget to County Commissioners. 2. July 21, 1970, sheriff submits budget which was accepted by Board of County Commissioners. Sheriff agreed to extend hearing until August 4, 1970, for Commissioners to consider budget, though F.S. § 30.49(4), F.S.A....

...to reduce it after that date. The Board of Administration entered its order finding that the Board of County Commissioners was without jurisdiction to reduce the sheriff’s budget after August 21, 1970. The Board of Administration interpreted F.S. § 30.49, F.S.A....

...Affirmed in part and reversed in part. CARROLL, DONALD K., Acting C. J., and VANN, H., Associate Judge, concur. . Lewis v. Florida State Board of Health, 143 So.2d 867 (Fla.App. 1st 1962). . Barrow v. Holland, 125 So.2d 749 (Fla. 1960). .Laws of Florida 57-368 § 2 (1957 Statute §§ 30.49-30.54)....

QUESTIONS: 1. Does the sheriff of Volusia County have the right to a budget appeal to the Administration Commission pursuant to s. 30.49 , F.S.? 2....

...30.53 , F.S.? SUMMARY: Under the Volusia County Home Rule Charter Act, Ch. 70966, Laws of Florida, the Sheriff of Volusia County serves as the head of the Department of Public Safety and is not entitled to the benefits granted to the constitutional office of sheriff by ss. 30.49 and 30.53 , F.S., relating to the sheriff's budget and the purchase of supplies and equipment for the office. Section 30.49 , F.S., as amended by Ch....

...authority in Chapter 30, Florida Statutes, and the County’s authority to implement a county budget in Chapter 129, Florida Statutes. The Sheriff is an elected, independent constitutional officer. Art. VIII, § 1(d), Fla. Const.; § 30.53, Fla. Stat. (2018). Section 30.49, Florida Statutes (2018), directs the Sheriff to annually prepare and submit a proposed budget to the Board. Her proposed budget is to cover expenses involving the powers, duties, and operations of the office for the next fiscal year. Section 30.49(2)(a) directs that the Sheriff’s proposed budget must categorize expenditures at the appropriate “fund level” in accordance with three “functional categories” (functions): (1) general law enforcement, (2) corrections and detention alternative facilities, and (3) court services, excluding service of process. § 30.49(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2018). Within each function, the Sheriff’s proposed budget must further itemize expenditures “in accordance with the uniform accounting system prescribed by the Department of Financial Services.” § 30.49(2)(c), Fla....

...The six categories listed under subsection (2)(c) correspond to what are referred to as “object codes” (objects) in the Department of Financial Services’ Uniform Accounting System Manual (UASM). The UASM provides for further itemization within the objects, referred to as “sub-object codes” (sub-objects). See § 30.49(3), Fla. Stat....

...In the hearings, the Board “may amend, modify, increase, or reduce any or all items of expenditure in the proposed budget, as certified by the sheriff pursuant to paragraphs (2)(a)-(c), and shall approve such budget, 2 as amended, modified, increased, or reduced.” § 30.49(4), Fla....

...To hold otherwise would do irreparable harm to the integrity of a constitutionally created office as well as violate the precept established by F.S. Section 30.53 and, in practical effect, gain nothing for the county. Weitzenfeld construed an older version of section 30.49 that did not require the Sheriff to submit a proposed budget organized by function, object, and sub-object....

...e year in which this indebtedness was incurred, all budgeted funds were received by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office; yet, the defendant failed to pay his obligation to. the plaintiff. Under such facts the defendant is personally liable. See § 30.49, Fla....

...rehearing but more than *605 30 days following the reversal order of which rehearing was sought. Respondents now move to dismiss the petition for writ of certiorari, alleging that the order of the Administration Commission was final when entered (F.S. 30.49(5) ) and that there is no provision for a motion for rehearing, concluding therefore that the petition for writ of certiorari in this Court was not timely filed and that we are accordingly without jurisdiction to entertain same....

vested in the Department of Administration by Section 30.49(4), (5) 1 is an unconstitutional attempt to

...look out for'; AGO 074-266, holding that the sheriff is responsible for `efficient operation of the jail'; 60 Am. Jur.2d Penal and Correctional Institutions s. 9. The sheriff's responsibility for the operation of the county jail is made apparent by s. 30.49 , F....

...iscal year . The expenditures shall be itemized as follows: (a) Salary of the sheriff. (b) Salaries of deputies and assistants. (c) Expenses, other than salaries. (d) Equipment. (e) Investigations. (f) Reserve for contingencies. (Emphasis supplied.) Section 30.49 (4), F....

...any persons who are participating in any rehabilitative or service program approved and authorized by the officer-in-charge of the detention facility. Additionally, the payment of funds to a prison chaplain may be included within the sheriff's budget submitted in accordance with s. 30.49 , F....

...ment of Offender Rehabilitation pursuant to the provisions of s. 951.23 , F. S. However, the board of county commissioners may authorize the repair or capital improvements of the county jail to provide for or establish such facilities or chapel. See s. 30.49 , F....

lease-purchase agreements when making vehicle purchases. Section 30.49, Florida Statutes, relating to the sheriff's

expenditures in the proposed budget . . . . ` Section 30.49(4), F. S. The board of county commissioners

...That means, each year, a budget “must be prepared, summarized, and approved by the board of county commissioners of each county.” § 129.01(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2020). Each county’s budget “must be balanced, so that the total 2. See, e.g., § 30.49(1), Fla Stat....

...(2020) (“Pursuant to s. 129.03(2), each sheriff shall annually prepare and submit to the board of county commissioners a proposed budget . . . .”); § 30.50(4) (“ [T]he budget may be amended as provided for county budgets in s. 129.06(2).”); § 30.49(8) (“[Budget items] shall be subject to the same provisions of law as the county annual budget ....

...riffs are subject to the provisions of chapter 129. The statute provides that “items placed in the budget of the board of county commissioners pursuant to this law” are subject to “the same provisions of law as the county annual budget.” § 30.49(8). In providing a proposed annual budget to the county commission, the sheriff must categorize proposed expenditures at several levels of specificity. § 30.49(2)(a). The broadest category within the sheriff’s budget is the “function” level, which includes “general law enforcement,” “corrections and detention alternative facilities,” and “court services, excluding service of process.” § 30.49(2)(a)(1)-(3). Within each function are six “objects,” which include “personnel services,” “operating expenses,” “capital outlay,” “debt service,” “grants and aids,” and “other uses.” § 30.49(2)(c)(1)-(6). At the request of the county, the sheriff must also break down expenses at the more granular “subobject” level. § 30.49(3)....

...9 The county “may not amend, modify, increase, or reduce any expenditure at the subobject code level” or “require confidential information concerning details of investigations” as part of its budgetary oversight of the sheriff’s operations. § 30.49(3)....

...budget” (without regard to the level of specificity) and, after a hearing, “amend, modify, increase, or reduce any or all items of expenditure in the proposed budget . . . and shall approve such budget, as amended, modified, increased, or reduced.” § 30.49(4). After approving the budget, the county must notify the sheriff in writing of the approved budget and include “the specific items amended, modified, increased, or reduced.” § 30.49(4), Fla. Stat. (2020). 9. The statute uses terms defined by the UASM. § 30.49(2)(c) (“[E]xpenditures must be itemized in accordance with the uniform accounting system prescribed by the Department of Financial Services.”)....

...This includes functions, objects, and subobjects. As the parties did in their briefs, we refer to the version of the UASM that was in effect when this dispute arose. - 14 -  In our case, the parties do not dispute that the Sheriff must follow the steps set out at section 30.49....

...They agree the Sheriff’s proposed budget must include estimated amounts for “all proposed expenditures for operating and equipping the sheriff’s office and jail, excluding the cost of construction, repair, or capital improvement of county buildings during the fiscal year.” § 30.49(2)(a)....

...“If in the judgment of the sheriff an emergency should arise by reason of which the sheriff would be unable to perform his or her duties without the expenditure of larger amounts than those provided in the budget, he or she may apply to the board of county commissioners for the appropriation of additional amounts.” § 30.49(10). The sheriff gets to appeal the county’s decision if it is unsatisfactory. - 15 - (Commission) within 30 days of the board’s approval. § 30.49(4)(a), Fla. Stat. (2020). The Executive Office of the Governor (Executive Office) must hold a hearing for each party to make its case. § 30.49(5), Fla....

...decisions about matters that, in budgetary parlance, are subobjects: “the purchase of supplies and equipment, selection of personnel, and the hiring, firing, and setting of salaries of such personnel.” § 30.53; see also UASM at 131-141.11 Another structural clue appears in section 30.49....

...That provision requires the sheriff to itemize proposed budget expenditures into categories that correspond to the fund and object level: general law enforcement, corrections and detention alternative facilities, and court services, excluding service of process. See § 30.49(2)(a); UASM at 103 (521.00 Law Enforcement; 523.00 Detention and Correction)....

...at 138 (subobject code 64 corresponds to “machinery and equipment”). - 21 - previous fiscal years down to the subobject level. It then provides that the board “may not amend, modify, increase, or reduce any expenditure at the subobject code level.” § 30.49(3)....

...the matter before us—it does not supply the meaning of that provision in the context of the whole text at issue. The Legislature did not write section 129.06(5) on a blank slate in 1988. See ch. 88-85, § 2, at 365, Laws of Fla. The provisions contained in sections 30.49(8) and 30.50(4) were already there, contemplating that the sheriffs would request amendments to appropriations as needed, and would apply to their respective boards of county commissioners for the appropriation of additional funds....

...the authority he purports to have under the lame duck provision. Nor would some parts of chapter 30 be spared from obsolescence were the Sheriff correct: there would be little need for recourse to the Administration Commission as contemplated in section 30.49(4) and (5) if the Sheriff were free to make transfers at the object level after they had become fixed appropriations....

...planning and budgets. Ch. 69-106, § 31, at 552, Laws of Fla. The Department of Administration was abolished in 1992, and most of its responsibilities were transferred to the newly created Department of Management Services. When Weitzenfeld was decided, section 30.49 stated that the Department supervised review of county modifications to sheriffs’ budgets. § 30.49(5), Fla. Stat. (1973). Under the current statutory scheme, the review process is overseen by the Administration Commission and the Executive Office. § 30.49(5), Fla....

...(2021). This process is not in play here, because the County did not make any changes or deletions to the Sheriff’s proposed budget, and therefore the matter was not presented to the Administration Commission and Executive Office. 13. Since 1975, section 30.49 has been revised on several occasions, most notably in 2002 and 2011....

...In 2002, the Legislature overhauled the required format of sheriffs’ budgets. Instead of six narrow categories of expenditure, sheriffs were thereafter required to organize their budgets into three broad functional categories, organized by object code. Ch. 2002-193, § 2. - 27 - 30.49 was “an unconstitutional attempt to vest in an appointive official unrestricted discretion.” 312 So. 2d at 195. That prior version of the statute required the sheriffs to sort their proposed budgets into six categories of expenses at a single level of detail—all of which we would today call subobjects. § 30.49(2), Fla....

amended by s. 1, Ch. 83-405, Laws of Florida. 3 Section 30.49, F.S. 4 312 So.2d 194, 196 (Fla. 1975). 5 Id

...prisoner with the opportunity for daily sick call supervised by the facility physician or his designee. And see, subsections (12), (17), and (18) of Rule 33-8.07. Section 951.23 , F.S., and Rule 33-8.07, F.A.C., should be read in pari materia with s 30.49 , F.S. (1982 Supp.) in reaching an understanding of the nature of the budgetary process for providing medical treatment and services to county prisoners. Section 30.49 (1), F.S., requires the sheriff to certify to the board of county commissioners a proposed budget of expenditures for carrying out the powers, duties and operations of the sheriff's office for the ensuing fiscal year of the county....

...ensuing fiscal year, and to divide the budget and expenditures into categories, including one for expenditures anticipated to be incurred in the maintenance and operation of local correctional facilities and detention alternative facilities. See, s 30.49 (2), F.S. The sheriff's budget, as approved by the board of county commissioners, must include, among other things, the cost of operating the county jail. Section 30.49 (4), F.S. Construing s 30.49 with s 951.23 and Rule 33-8.07, F.A.C., it is readily apparent that the providing of medical care and services to county prisoners, as prescribed by Rule 33-8.07, is a continuing and ongoing responsibility of the sheriff and the expenses thereo...

...ual operating budget of the sheriff's office. Based on the foregoing laws, administrative rule and Attorney General Opinions, I therefore conclude that the board of county commissioners is not authorized by s 932.704 , F.S. (1982 Supp.), read with s 30.49 , F.S....

office and payable to him in the year 1958.” . § 30.49, F.S.A. . Gavagan v. Marshall (1948), 160 Fla

...e within the budget authority of the Board of County Commissioners and should be administered in the same manner as other discretionary sales surtax moneys. You have framed your question in terms of the independence of the sheriff in budget matters. Section 30.49 , Florida Statutes, provides that: "(1) Pursuant to section 129.03 (2), each sheriff shall certify to the board of county commissioners a proposed budget of expenditure for the carrying out of the powers, duties, and operations of his office for the ensuing fiscal year of the county....

...nty buildings during such fiscal year. The expenditures shall be itemized as follows: 1. Salary of the sheriff. 2. Salaries of deputies and assistants. 3. Expenses, other than salaries. 4. Equipment. 5. Investigations. 6. Reserve for contingencies." Section 30.49 (4), Florida Statutes, authorizes the board of county commissioners to "amend, modify, increase, or reduce any or all items of expenditure in the [sheriff's] proposed budget, ....

board of county commissioners each year, id. at § 30.49(1), and the commissioners “may amend, modify, increase

...ption of the sheriff's duties, "the operation of [the county jail] and the control and custody of the inmates therein incarcerated are in the hands of the sheriff." 12 The sheriff's responsibility for the operation of the county jail is reflected by section 30.49 , Florida Statutes (1990 Supplement), which requires the sheriff to show in his proposed budget estimated amounts for "operating and equipping the sheriff's office and jail other than construction, repair, or capital improvement of coun...

...Lucie County , 153 So. 906 , 908 (Fla. 1933) (county jail is county property which the law requires the sheriff to manage and look out for); Ops. Att'y Gen. Fla. 77-55 (1977) and 74-266 (1974) (sheriff is responsible for efficient operation of jail). 13 Section 30.49 (2), Fla....