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Highlands County Florida PopularPopular ReportReport A Financial Summary for its Citizens Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2007 Highlands County Florida The quality of life in Highlands County is second to none. Small town charm and rural character make its communities a wonderful place in which to live, work and raise a family. The City of Avon Park, or “The City of Champions”, is known for its pride and accomplishments in its schools, youth and sports activities. The Town of Lake Placid is known as the “Caladium Capital of the World”, named for the popular landscape plant grown for its beautiful foliage. Sebring is home to Highlands Hammock State Park, one of the oldest and most scenic in the Florida park system. The entire county is known for its freshwater lakes with some of the best fishing anywhere. Highlands County continues to experience considerable growth. As a result, we are faced with the challenge of maintaining the quality environment that our citizens have grown to enjoy. We in Highlands County look forward to a bright and prosperous future and working with our citizens to make Highlands County a place we can all be proud to call home. Table of Contents A Message from L.E. “Luke” Brooker . 2 Responsibilities of the Clerk’s Office . 3 Accomplishments at a Glance . 4 About this Report . 5 Certificate of Achievement.. 6 Highlands County Government . 7 Fiscal Responsibility . 7 Summary Financial Information . 8 Governmental Revenues & Expenditures . 9 Clerk of the Circuit Court . 10 Other Constitutional Officers . 14 Board of County Commissioners . 15 County Departments . 17 Proprietary Operations . 20 Capital Asset Activity . 23 County Accomplishments & Projects . 24 Investment Policy . 25 Other Financial Data . 26 How to Contact Highlands County Government . 29 1 A Message from L. E. “Luke” Brooker Highlands County Clerk of Circuit Court, Clerk of the County Court, County Auditor, County Recorder and Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners To the Citizens of Highlands County We are pleased to present Highlands County’s second Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007. This report has been prepared by the Business Services Division of the Clerk of Courts in an effort to improve communication between the government of Highlands County and you, the citizens whom we serve. The Popular Annual Financial Report is designed for the non-financial reader who desires an overview or summary of the County government and its financial condition. Unlike the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), this Popular Report is unaudited and is prepared for general information purposes. We were pleased to receive the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting in our first year of publication last fiscal year. The Popular Report is presented in a condensed and summarized form and is not a substitute for the more detailed (CAFR). The County’s audited financial statements, which are presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), are contained in the CAFR for Fiscal Year 2006- 2007. For the 23rd consecutive year, our CAFR has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). The CAFR and PAFR are available on the Clerk of Courts website at http://www.hcclerk.org/FinancialStatements.aspx. Requests for additional information may be addressed to the Clerk of Courts, 590 South Commerce Avenue, Sebring, Florida, 33870-3701. Sincerely. L.E. “Luke” Brooker “You have the right to expect and receive courteous and efficient service in the Offices of the Clerk of the Circuit and County Court.” 2 Clerk of the Circuit Court A Public Trustee Established by the Florida Constitution of 1838 Provisions of the Florida Constitution established the Clerk of the Circuit Court as an elected public trustee and set in place at the county level a system of “checks and balances” which has been proven to serve the public well. The role as Public Trustee is evidenced as follows: County Government ¾ Accountant, auditor and recorder for the Board of County Commissioners ¾ Collector and distributor of statutory assessments ¾ Guardian of public funds and public property ¾ Guardian and recorder of “Official Records” Courts ¾ Ensures that the court’s orders, judgments or directives are carried out within the parameters allowed by law ¾ Maintains the court’s records ¾ Collects and disburses the court fines, fees and assessments ¾ Collects and disburses court ordered child support and alimony payments State Government ¾ Collects and disburses documentary stamps and intangible taxes for the Department of Revenue ¾ Collects and disburses numerous fees and assessments for the benefit of State Trust Funds ¾ Provides informational, financial and statistical data to the State Legislature, Supreme Court, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Auditor General, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, and other State agencies Citizens’ Protection ¾ As custodian of County Funds, the Clerk ensures that the taxpayer’s money is managed according to law ¾ Provides internal audits of county government ¾ Provides access to public records ¾ Audits reports of guardians in guardianship cases ¾ Provides assistance to citizens in accessing the courts ¾ Processes and maintains court documents to ensure that litigant’s court cases are handled in a timely manner Accountability as a Public Trustee The office of the Clerk is a complex organization that performs a wide range of record keeping, information management and financial management in the judicial system and county government. The Clerk’s office performs 926 different constitutional and statutory functions or duties. With the magnitude of the impact that the Clerk’s duties have on the peoples’ rights and property, it is essential that the Clerk be accountable for his/her actions. Thus, the constitution and statutes decree that: ¾ The Clerk be governed by statutory authority in carrying out the duties and functions of the office ¾ As auditor and custodian of all county funds, the Clerk is subject to State Auditor General rules and regulations ¾ The Clerk is subject to annual audits by an independent audit firm. Accountability is further derived by the Clerk’s duties and actions being constantly subjected to public evaluation and scrutiny through the election process every four (4) years. 3 L.E. “Luke” Brooker Clerk of Courts Fiscal Year 2006-2007 Accomplishments at a Glance ¾ Implemented new Information Technology Help Desk and Work Order system “TrackIT”. ¾ Reengineered entire Payables digital imaging process from a hosted system to an in- house process to work in conjunction with new FinancePLUS application suite. ¾ Installed an e-mail archiving application “ViewWise” on a Windows server with Gigabit connectivity to the network. ¾ Acquired Board of County Commissioners approval and funding for CountyNet Blade Server, Storage Area Network (SAN), Microsoft Active Directory and Exchange migrations. ¾ Upgraded Clerk of Courts, Sheriff’s Office, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections Sungard Pentamation Financial applications suite to PLUS series windows based 4.1 version. ¾ Implemented new Clerk of Courts web site and hosting vendor with full content management system and connectivity to internally hosted official records and court systems database search engines. ¾ Implemented Traffic Collection Agency Payment System. ¾ Reorganized Technology Department and changed department name from Automated Services to Information Technology. ¾ Implemented remote\mobile access to the CountyNet network for key Clerk of Courts personnel for network support and network access during emergencies/activations, and for general access while away from the office, using laptops with Sprint air cards and Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity. ¾ Upgraded Board of County Commissioners Sungard Pentamation Financial, Fixed Assets and Human Resources applications to PLUS series windows based 4.1 version. ¾ Implemented new Work Order system from Sungard Pentamation for the Board of County Commissioners Road and Bridge Shop. ¾ Installed a new DSL circuit with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) at the Animal Control Office, placing it onto the CountyNet network, which in turn provides network, file, and email access to all animal control employees. ¾ Implemented remote/mobile access to the CountyNet network for all Building Inspectors and Code Enforcement Officers using laptops with Sprint air card and Virtual Private Network (VPN) connectivity. ¾ Implemented a 100Mb fiber connection to the new Public Defender office. 4 About this Report This report provides an overview of the operations of Highlands County’s constitutional offices: Board of County Commissioners • Clerk of the Circuit Court • Property Appraiser Sheriff • Supervisor of Elections • Tax Collector The financial information presented in this report has been summarized from Highlands County’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and includes a condensed statement of net assets and statement of activities with previous year comparative data. The CAFR outlines the County’s financial position and operating activities for the year in great detail and in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Because the information contained in the PAFR is summarized and does not include the discretely presented component unit (Industrial Development Authority), this report is not prepared in accordance
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