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Budget Resolutions Transferring Funds From Impact Fees to General Fund For Computer Assisted Dispatch System for Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services
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BRIEF OVERVIEW
Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services (HCFES) will be transferring reimbursable funds from Fire and EMS funds to General Fund for the following:
• Utilities
• Water
• Office Supplies
• Rental of Office Space
• Purchase of New Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) System at Sheriff’s Office.
The purchase of the new CAD System at the Sheriff’s Office is utilizing impact fees. The expenditure of impact fees by the Board is limited to the acquisition, purchase or construction of new facilities and equipment, or portions thereof, required to provide fire protection and related emergency services to new construction. Further, the expenditure of impact fees is limited to buildings and capital equipment which have a long-term life expectancy. The Board is prohibited from using collected fees to acquire, purchase, or construct facilities or equipment which would otherwise be obtained to meet the needs of Fire/EMS. See, e.g., St. Johns County. v. Northeast Fla. Builders Assn, Inc., 583 So. 2d 635, 638 (Fla. 1991) (“The use of impact fees has become an accepted method of paying for public improvements that must be constructed to serve new growth.”).
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Please see appropriate budget resolutions for the transfers.
LEGAL NOTE
The Board has the authority to take the recommended action on this item pursuant to Chapter 125, Florida Statute.
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RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Board make a factual finding that the CAD system is a long-term capital investment necessitated by the impact of new development within Hernando County, approve the attached budget resolutions to allow the transfers from impact fees to cover the HCFES portion of the new CAD system, transfers from Fire and EMS funds to General Fund, and authorize the Chairman’s signature on them.