Okaloosa County BOCC — January 7, 2014 — Revised LETF Procedures — reading text

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and Board of County Commissioners Joint Operating Procedures For Law Enforcement Trust Fund Section 1. Initiation of a Request for Expenditure from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund (“LETF”). a) Request from Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO). LETF proceeds may be appropriated by the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) upon the request by OCSO. The request by the OCSO for an appropriation from the LETF shall be made by the submittal of an Okaloosa County LETF Application, which shall include a written certification of the OCSO that the request complies with the provisions of section 932.7055, Florida Statutes. b) Request from other entities. Any other agency or organization, other than the OCSO, that seeks an appropriation for the use of proceeds from the LETF shall initially submit an Okaloosa County LETF Application to the OCSO. The requesting agency or organization shall provide a detailed summary of the nature of the proposed expenditure so as to establish that it is an authorized use under Florida law. The OCSO shall review the request and if found to be consistent with Florida law, shall submit the Okaloosa County LETF Application to the Board for its consideration, which shall include a written certification of the OCSO that the request complies with the provisions of section 932.7055, Florida Statutes. 1 Section 2. Authorized Uses of LETF Proceeds. a) LETF proceeds may only be used for the following purposes: i. School resource officer; ii. Crime prevention; iii. Safe neighborhood; iv. Drug abuse education and prevention programs; v. Other such law enforcement purposes as the Board deems appropriate and which are consistent with the provisions of section 932.7055, Florida Statutes. b) LETF proceeds shall not be utilized to meet normal operating needs of the OCSO. c) If the OCSO acquires at least $15,000 pursuant to the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act within a fiscal year, it must expend or donate no less than 15 percent of such proceeds for the support or operation of any drug treatment, drug abuse education, drug or crime prevention, safe neighborhood, or school resource officer program(s). The OCSO has the discretion to determine which program(s) will receive the designated proceeds. Section 3. Trust Fund Expenditure Documentation. a) Any request for the expenditure of funds from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund shall require the submission of a completed Okaloosa County LETF Application. All supporting documentation necessary to establish that the use is consistent with the requirements of Florida law shall be attached to the Application. b) A completed Application shall be submitted for any request for funding from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund by the OCSO or any other agency or organization other than the OCSO. The Application submitted by the OCSO shall be submitted to the Board. The Application submitted by any other agency or organization other than the OCSO shall be initially submitted to the OCSO for its review. If found to be in compliance with Florida law, the OCSO shall submit the Application of the other agency or organization to the Board for its consideration. 2  c) The Application shall include the type of expenditure requested, the authorized category for use as described in Section 932.7055, Florida Statutes, all documentation establishing that the requested expenditure is authorized under Florida law and a written certification of the OCSO that the funding request complies with the provisions of Section 932.7055, Florida Statute. d) Any applicant seeking funding from the LETF shall acknowledge that in the event that any funds received are not spent for the purposes authorized or that documentation of the expenditure is not provided within sixty (60) days from receipt, then that applicant will be required to reimburse those funds. Section 4. Board Review and Approval. a) The OCSO shall review all requests for LETF proceeds and forward a recommendation to the County Administrator's Office for placement and consideration on the next available meeting of the Board. b) Upon approval by the Board, the Clerk of Circuit Courts shall be authorized to release funds to the OCSO as directed. Section 5. Disbursement of Funds and Submittal of Receipts a) Upon the funds being released to the OCSO, it shall disburse those funds in the amounts approved by the Board for those authorized expenditures. b) Upon expenditure of the LETF funds, the OCSO and any entity or organization receiving these funds shall provide an accounting of those funds pursuant to the requirements of Section 932.7055(5) (c), Florida Statutes. Accountings and documentation for expenditures by any agency or organization, other than the OCSO, shall be provided to the OCSO with a copy to the Clerk of Courts’ Finance Office. The accounting and documentation for expenditures by the OCSO shall be provided to the Clerk of the Courts Finance Office. At a minimum, such documentation shall be provided which establishes that the LETF proceeds were expended for the purposes that they were approved and in conformity with Florida law. c) Receipts for all items purchased or donations made to organizations shall be filed by the OCSO with the Clerk within sixty (60) days of expenditure. 3 d) All such correspondence, requests of funds, expenditure reports, accounting of funds spent, etc. are public records and shall be made available to the public and retained on file per State archiving and retention requirements. e) Failure to provide documentation within sixty (60) days shall be grounds for the County to seek reimbursement from the OCSO or any other entity or organization for the funds expended from the LETF. 4