Broward County Commission Regular Meeting

MOTION TO CONSIDER adoption of a Resolution No. 2018-032 Amending the Administrative Code, the title of which is as follows:
 
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO DONATIONS TO BROWARD COUNTY; AMENDING SECTION 18.63 OF THE BROWARD COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE CODE ("ADMINISTRATIVE CODE") TO CHANGE THE PROCEDURES BY WHICH BROWARD COUNTY ACCEPTS DONATIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.

ACTION:  (T-12:02 PM)  Approved.  (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
 
VOTE: 8-0.  Vice-Mayor Bogen was not present.

A Resolution directing the County Administrator to publish notice of public hearing to consider adoption of the Resolution Amending the Administrative Code was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting of January 9, 2018.

Establishes a more efficient, streamlined, and comprehensive process for the acceptance of donations made to Broward County as well as a reporting mechanism for donations that are accepted without a resolution of the Board of County Commissioners (the "Board").

Section 18.63 of the Administrative Code, which was codified in 1987 and has never been amended, sets forth the procedures for the acceptance of donations made to Broward County. Under Section 18.63, donations of $500 or more may only be accepted by a Resolution of the Board, whereas donations of less than $500 may be accepted by the County Administrator or her designee.
 
On October 10, 2017, the Board directed the County Administrator and the Office of the County Attorney to research how other Florida counties and municipalities handle donations. The research shows that the $500 threshold under Section 18.63 is substantially lower than threshold donation values used by other Florida counties and municipalities. The research also revealed that the current processes under Section 18.63 for accepting and acknowledging donations are inconsistent with the processes of other Florida counties and municipalities.
 
In an effort to both modernize and streamline Section 18.63, the amended Section raises the threshold value for donations that may be accepted by the County Administrator or her designee to $10,000. This figure was determined after consultation with the Office of the County Administrator and consideration of the threshold donation values used by certain municipalities including the City of Miami and the City of Jacksonville, which are set at $25,000 and $500,000, respectively.
 
The proposed Resolution also allows for, and recognizes differences in, monetary donations, donations of interests in real property, and donations of personal property. Donations to the County can come in forms other than monetary donations, but the current language of Section18.63 primarily contemplates monetary donations.
 
In addition, the proposed Resolution requires that for each donation accepted without a resolution of the Board, the County Administrator or her designee prepare and send to the donor a letter acknowledging the donation. Under the current language of Section 18.63, there is no such requirement that donations accepted without a Resolution of the Board be formally recognized or documented.
 
Finally, the proposed Resolution requires the County Administrator to, on a quarterly basis, report to the Board all donations accepted by her or her designee.

Keoki M. Baron, Assistant County Attorney, (954) 357-7600