Fiscal Year 1998 MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS'
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998,
KEMP & GREEN, P.A.
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
CONTENTS
Independent Auditors' Report` Im2.
Financial Stat6m nts
Combined alanc Sheet a A11 'Fu d Types and Account Groups3
Statement-of RRevenues, 'Expenditures., and Changes in Fund
Balance. -, Gen rgal Fury
Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Ch ng s in Fund
Balance m Budgqt and ,Actual (BudgetaryBasis) General
Fun
Notes to Financial Statements .:4
Othr9..R its e
Independent Auditors Report on Compliance and on Internal
Control over Financial Reporting I2- 3
Independent Auditors` Management Letter` I4-15
GREEN, P.A.
Certified Public Accountants
1438 KENNEDY DRIVE
P. o. BOX 1529
KEY WEST,,FLORIDA 33041-1529 MEMBER OF AMERICAN INSTITUTE
M. o, KEMP, ,P:A, ( 5) 294-2581 D FLORIDA INSTITUTE F
R eR A E. GREEN, C.P.A. FAX # (305)294- 773 CERTIFIED PUBLIC AOCOONTANTS.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT
r. Ervin Q i.g
Property Appraiser
Monroe County9 . Florida
We have audited the financial statements of' the Property Appraiser of Monroe
County,, Flo ida ("Property Appraiser") as, f epte ber 30, 199 .'and for the
year then ended, as., listed in the accompanying table of ,contents. These
financial statements are the responsibility -of the Property Appraiser. Our
responsibility is to' express an opinion on these financial statements based on
our audit.
e conducted' our audit in accordance 'with generally accepted anditi g
standards and Governiflent ,Auditing Standards, issued by the Comptrdl 1 er General
of the United States. These standared$ require that we plan and perform the
audit to obtain reasonable assurance about, whether the financial statements
are free of material misstatement. An audit -includes examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts- and disclosu e in the financial
statements.- An audit also includes assessing the, accounting`prIingi les used
and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the
overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our- audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion>
As discussed in Note 1, the financial statements present only the Property
Appraiser and are not intended t present fairly the financial position of
,Monroe County, loci a an the results o operations n cash _flows of its
proprietary fund types in conformity with generally accepted accounting*
principles.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to ab6ve resent fairly', in
all mater°ial. respectsf the' financial. pbsition of the Property Appraiser as of
September 30, 1993 ante results o 'its ,o erations for the year then' nded
in conformity pith generally accepted accounting principles.
1
In accordance with rnnent Auditing Standards, we have also i ss d A report
dated February 11, 1999 on our cons I'd ration, of the Property Appraiser's
,internal control over financial reporting, and r'tests of its do rpTianc
with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts and grants.
PA-
Kemp Green, P.A.
C rti fi d P bl i Accountant's
February ,1$ 1999.
2
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
TM PROPERTY APPRAISER
COMBINED BALANCE SHEET - ALL FUND TYPES AND ACCOUNT GROUPS
SEP'CEMBER 30, 1996
Governmental Account
Fend Type Grod .. `Totals
Long'-T r � 6 oran-
.Oor€oral Debt Agj bnly .
Assets.
Cash and Investments312,432 - $ 312,432
Prepaid Expenses 301 - 301
Amount to be Provided 106,843 106,843,
Total Assets' 312,7 106 6 '; 19,57
Liabilities.
Accounts Payable 37,593 - 7,593
Accrued Wages
And Benefits Payable- 35,216 3 , -1:
Due .to Other Governments 90,927 - 90,927
Due to Individuals -
Long-Term Debt 106,843 -10 ,6 3'
Total Liabilities 163,736 106,843 270,579
Fund Balance 148,997 148,997
Total Lia i1iti s and
Fund Balance 31 3 101643 419a7
The aoob panyirrg notes are an integral
part of these financial statements
3-
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
STATEMENT OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND .CHANGES
IN FUND BALANCE - GENERAL FUND
FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
Revenues:
Board of County.Commissioners $ 1,917,364
Other Taxing ,Districts 341,649
Interest Income .13,940
Miscellaneous 20,841
Total Revenues 2,293,794.
Expenditures:
Current:
General Government:
Personal Services 1,669,165
Operating`Expenses497,079
Capital Outlay - 160,404
Total Expenditures 2,326,648
Expenditures in Excess of Revenue (32,854)
Fund-Bal`ance, Beginning of Year 181,851
Fund Balance, End of Year 148 997
The accompanying notes are. an integral
part of these financial statements
-4-
MONROE CQU ,-FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
STATES OF REVENUES D EXPENDITUREa CH ES IN
FUND BALANCE BUDGET AND ACTUAL (BUDGET Y BASIS) a GENERAL FUND
FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTE BER 30, 199E
Actual Variance
(Budgetary Favorable
Eg et: Easis) (Unfavorable)
Revenues
Board of County Co issioners 2e102,g94 1,917®364 (185,585)
Other Taxing 6'stricts 364„016 338,87E (25,138)
Interest Income R 13,940, 13,940
Miscellaneous.' 0a341 0s041
Total Revenues- 2a466,965 2,291,023 (175, 42)
'Expenditures:
'Current:
General vernment:
Personal Services 1,882,946 1gi 61e361` 220,085 .
Operating Expenses 5100499 527,523 ( 7a0 4)
Capital Outlay ' 5e120 160,404 (95,284)
Total Expenditures 2 45 e565 2,350.70E (107,777)
Excess of Revenues Overt
(Under) Expenditures a400 (59m7 5) (68,165Y ,
Other Financing (Uses);
Reserve fdr,Contingehc es (8,400). ®400
Excess of Revenues (Under)
Expenditures and Other Uses (59Q 65) , (59,765)
Adjustments:
To-Adjust Expenditures for
Accruals 24,140 24,140
TO.Adjust Revenues for'Ancruals 2,771 2,771
ucess 'of Expenditures Over Revenges
GAAP Basis of Accounting (32®E54) (32,854)
Ford Balance',-Beginning of Year 151,8 1` 181,851
Fund Balance, End of Year IB1.B1 148.97 (32:E54j
The accompanying notes are an integral
part of these financial statements..
_5®
ONROE COUNTY',,-FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ETR 38 1998
NOTE 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The- following, is a summary of the significant accounting principles and
policies -used in the preparation of these financial statements,
d ortin Entity The Property Appraiser of Monroe County, Florida ("Pr°operty
Appraiser") is a separate Constitutional Officer as provided by the laws- f
the State of Florida. For, financial reporting purposes, it is deemed to a
arf of the County°s primary government, and therefore is included as such in
the MonroeCountly Comprehensi,ve Annual Financial Report.
Basis of Presentation a These financial, tater nts. have been prepared in
conforrit ,with the.accounting principles and reporting guidelines established
by. the Governmental Accounting Standards Board' . Property, Appraiser
utilizes the following fund types and account groups®.
,, Governmental Fund Types
The General Fund This fund is used o 'account for all revenue and
e enditures, appl dabl'd _to the general operations—of the Property Appraiser ,
that are not required either legally or y generally accepted, accounting
-
principles s
°incipl to be accounted for in another fund..
Account Group:
drreral Lon -Tarr. Debt Account Group . - This account group s established to
account for the long-term' debt of the Property Appraiser financed from
governmental funds.
Oasis of Accounting n. The modified accrual basis of .accounting is followed by
the General Fund. Under the modified ccrual basis of accounting, revenues
are recorded when received or when susceptible to accrual that is—measurable,
and available to finance The Property Appraiser's operations Expenditures
are recorded when .the liability is incurred except for accumulated sick pay
and vacation pay which is not recorded s an expenditure. Budgets are
prepared on the cash basis.
-6-
O ROE COUNTY,
FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
NOTESTO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER 3m 199
NOTE 1. - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)
u get. y e u recent Expenditures _are controlled 'by appropriations in
accordance with the budge requirements et 'forth in the Florida Statutes.
The budgeted revenues :and" expenditures in .the accompanying financial
statements reflect all approved aer�drnents a
General Fixed Assets - The -tangible personal property used by the Property
Appraiser in its opera ions is shown in the General Fixed. Assets Account Group
of the 'Board of County Commissioners. -In addition, the office space are
certain other expenditure itemsused in the Property, Ap raiser 's; operations
are provided at no cost by the Board of County 'Com issioners.
Undistributed Excess Fees - Florida Statutes provide that assessed fee revenue
collected by the Property Appraiser' in excess' of expenditures shall b ,
retained and applied to next year®.s - operating costs. The amount' of
undistributed excess fees at the end of each year applicable tothe Board of
County Commissioners of Monroe_ County is reporte ;as fund balance.
Coenated Absences d The Property Appraiser's policy grants employees annual
leave and sick ,leave in 'varying amounts® Upon termination of employment,
employees with six 'months or more of credited service can receive .payment for
accumul ated annual leave. In general i ck leave payments are .granted upon
'termination of employment to employees with five years .or more of credited
service.'' The maximum payment is subject to percentages and maximum hour
limitations. Accumulated sick leave is -accrued to the extent that such
amounts would normally- be 'liquidated with expendable available financial
resources. The remaining liability is reflected ire the General Long-Ter Debt-
Account Croup,
Total Columns- on Combined Statements - The column entitled "Totals (Memorandum
Only)" of this report is included for informational purposes only. This total
column is not comparable to consolidated financial information, as the basic
reporting entity is by fund type., and the various funds use different bases -of
accounting. In addition® interfund type eliminations have not been made in
arriving at the mounts included in this column.
w7-
ONE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPkAISER
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS'
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
NOTE 2 - `CASH AND INVESTMENTS
Cush and investments at 8 ep em er 0, 1998-consist of the following:
Demand Deposits 1--312,432
Demand and time deposits.are fully insured in, accordance with Florida Statute
280, which established the multiple financial institution collateral pool .
Legally, permissible investments are defined by Florida- Statute 125e31' and
primarily consist of federal and State securities.
ATE 3 L6%G TERM DEBT
The following is a summary -of' changes in long-term, debt for the .year ended
September 30, 19
Accrued
Compensated`
Absences
Long Teri Debt, Beginning of Year 125.818
-Debt Retired 18,97
Long Term-Debt, End of Year $ 106,84
NOTE 4 LEASE OBLIGATIONS
The Property Appraiser pays rent under cancelable operating leases for office
equipment. Rental expense for the current year amounted to $13,100.
-g-
MONROE COUNTY. FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
NOTES TO FINANCIAL-STATEMENTS'
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998
OTE 5 - RETIREMENT PLAN
Substantially all full -time Property. Appraiser employees are participants in
the: Florida Retirement System ('1hg System") a multiple-employer, cost-
sharing public retirement system. The System, -which is controlled by the
Stag 1. gislature and administered by the Stag of Florida, Department of
Administrations Division of Retirement,- covers approximately 600,40 full-time
e ployees of various governmental uniis 'within the Stag of Florida.
The System provides for -vsting of- benefits after 10 years of creditable
service. Norval retirement benefits are_ available, to employees retirement
who retire at
or after age 62 -with 1. or more years f service. Early tirement' is
available after 10 years. of service with a 5 reduction of benefits- 'for each
year prior to normal retirement age. Retirement benefits are based upon ages
ayera e compensation and yearsmo -service credit where average compensation is
computed as the average of an individual,,s five highest .years ` earrings.
Employees are not required to contribute to the System.
The Property Appraiser hasano responsibility to the System other than to Make
the periodic payments required by state statutes. The ,;Flonida Division of
Retirement issues "°a publ.iofy_ available, financial report- that irr lodes
,,,financial statements and required, supplementary information for the System.
The report may be obtained by writing to Florida Division of Retire rat, 2639
Monroe Street, Building C, Tallahassee, FL 3239-1560.
Participating employer6 contributions are based upon state-wide rates
established' by the State of Florida. -These rates are applied to 'employee
salaries as fol l oars m ',,regular er pl oyees, 16.45 special risk employees,
.32 s and elected officials, 27.93 . The Property--Appraiser's -contributions
rude dori'n , the" years ended Septe rber 30, 1998, 1§97 and 106 were $235,40 ,
-$23i,306 and 22, 00, respectively, equal to the actuarially determined
'Contribution requirements for each year.
NOTE 6 - DEFERRED COMPENSATION- PLAN
The Property Appraiser offers its employees a deferred compensation plan
created in accordance with Internal Revenue Code' Section 457. The. plan,
-
MOlROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
NOTES TO FINANCIAL ,STATEMENTS
SEPTEMBER ,30, 195
nNOTE 6 DEFERRED COMPENSATION P (Continued) .-
available to all Property Appraiser employees, permits t ;to defer portion
f their' salary- until future years. Participation in the Plan is opti real
The deferredcompensation is- net available t 'employees until termination,
retirement-
death, or unforeseeable emergencies,
Effective January 1, 1997, Federal legislationconverted the Section 457
deferred compensation assets from the Proper Appraiser ,asses t playas
assets. Asa result f these changes, plan assets are n longer subject t
the claims, of the Property Appraiser's general creditors®
The Property Appraiser has previously repotted the assets and associated
liabilities of the deferred comp nsation--'plan in the .Property -Appraiser's
financial statements as an agency, fund. Effective with the -change in
legislation these assets are no longer the Property prasr°$s assets and
fiduciary responsibility has been transferred to the third party .pl,an
administrator. - Consequently, these asses are no longer, reported in the
,accompanying financial statements, ire compliance With Governmental Standards
Board Statement No. 3 ,
NOTE 7 W LITIGATION
The Property Appraiser is a defendant in variou's lawsuits and is involved in
other disputes wherein substantial amounts,ar dl im d. In t `opinion of the
Property Appraiser, these suits and claims- should not result in judgments r°
settlements which, ,in aggregate, wouldliave a material effect on the Property
Appraiser®s financial position.
NOTE 8 - RISK MANAGEMENT
The Property Appraiser is exposed to varies ri ks -pf loss related t tort
theft-ofe damag to, and destruction f assets; errors and omissions; injuries
to employees® and natural disasters. Jhe Property Appraiser participates in
the coverage provided by' the Board of County' Commissioners of Monroe County
10�
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROPERTY. APPRAISER
NOTES TO FINANCIAL 'STATENENTS
EPTEM ER 30, 19
NOTE 8 - RISK MANAGEMENT (Continued)
for Workers , Compensation, Group' Insurance, and . Risk Management internal
service funds. Under theca programs, the brkar`s Compensation F6hd, provides
$250,000 coverage per claim for regular employees. The Group. Insdi anc Fun
provides coverage up to $ 5,0 0 for each medical claim. Risk Management -,
provides $100,000 for' each general liability 'claim aid .$100s000 for most
property damage claims. Windstorm, Flood and Property Damage insurance excess
coverage varies by individual- property; The County purchases ommer is
insurance for claims in excess of coverage provided by the 'funds, and for all
other rri sks of loss. Settled l ai ms`have `hot exceeded this. commerci al coverage
in any of the past three years_ The Property Appraisers makes payr1eht ,t the.
Worker's Cpr�pnstiffi -Group Insurance and _Risk` Management Funds based on
estimates ates of the amounts needed to pay Prior and €err nt r claims. '
NOTE 9 IMPACT OF YEAR 200
The Year - 2000 i ssue ,i s the r sul t of short om s i n many l ctr 6ni
process i ng syst ais` and other l trdni cequipment that may adversely affect'
the Property Appraiser's operations as early as fis al .y ar 1999,. .
The Property Appraiser is 'in the' process of taking a thorough inventory 'of
computer systems and other electronic q ip nt that may affected' by ,the
year 2000 issue and that are nddssary , tb conducting Property Appraiser
operations. , It is unknown as . f September 30, 1998, what-'-effects, if any,
failing' to ' r m diat such systems will have Upon the Property Appraiser
operations and financial reporting. Because of the unprecedented nature- of
the Year 2000, issues, its effects and the success of related rr' di'atin
ffdr°ts will not b f l ly determinable until the year 00 'and thereafter.
'Management cannot assure that the Property Appraiser is or' will be Year 20 00
raadya that the Property Appraiser's rd adiati n efforts will be successful in
whole or in; part, or that parties with whore the Property Appraiser, does
business will be 2000 ready.
-11-
KEMP B GREEN, P.A.
Certified Public Accountants
1438 KENNEDY DRIVE
P. O 1529
KEY WEST, FLORIDA 33041-1529 MEMSER°OF AMERICAN INSTITUTE
0, KEMP, C.P.A. (3 5) 244-25 1 AND FLORIDA INSTITUTE of
MARVA_E. GREEN, FAX # (305)294-4775 CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACC6UNTANTS
DEPENDS T AIT S' REPOT O COMPLIANCE AND INTERNAL-' T OVER
FINANCIAL REPORTI
Mr. Ervin Higgs
Property Appraiser
Monroe County, Florida
We have audited the financial statements of the Property"A raiser'' of Monroe
County, Florida ("Property Appraiser".) as of and for the year ended September
30, 1998, and have issued our report thereon dated February 11, 1999. We
conducted our-audit- in accordance''with generally accepted auditing standards
and the standards; 'applicable to financial 'audits contained in rrrlr rrt
t
AuditingStandards, issued y the Co ptrolI r General of, e United States.
or�pl i arc,
.As part of obtaining reasonable assonance -about whether, the Property
'Appraiser's financial st to n s are free of Material misstatement, w
performed tests f .its compliance with Icertain provisions of laws,
regulations, contracts and grant$, noncompliance with which could ave a
direct and material effect on the determination -of financial -statement
amounts. However, providing an opi'nicn or ,comefiance with those provisions was
not an objective of our audit and, accordingly, we do not express such 'an
opinion The results of our tests disclosed do instances of noncompliance that
are mqui red to be ,reported under Governmient Auditing Standards.
Internal Control Over Fina!lcial Re ortn
n planning and performing our audits we considered the Property A praiser's ,
internal control ,over financial reporting ire order to determine our a ditin
procedures for the purpose of expressing bur opjnipr or the financial
statements and not to provide assurance. bh the internal control over financial
reporting. Our .consideratibn of the internal control over financial reporting
would not .necessarily disclose, all matters in the internal control over
financial reporting that'Fight be material weaknesses A material weakness is
condition in which the design r operation of one on ore of the internal
control components does not reduce to a relatively low level the rusk that
misstatements in amounts that would be material in relation to the financial
1 -
statements being audited may occur and not b . detected within a timely,period
by` mpl ,y s in the normal course -of performi ng th it assigned functi ons.
noted no natters involving the internal control ov-
er financial reporting and
its operation that we consider to be material weaknesses.
This report is intended for ,the informations of management, federal awarding
agencies and pass=through entities; However, this report is a matter of public
record ,and its-distribution is not limited,
Kemp & Green, P.A.
Certified Public Accountants.
brtr 11, 1999
-1, -
KEMP GREEN, P.A.
Certified Public Accountants
1435 KENNEDY DRIVE
P. 0. BOX 1529"
KEY WEST, FLORIDA 33041-1529 � MEMBER A MERICAN INSTITUTE
. KE tP, C.P.A. (305) 294-2581 AND FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF
MA VA E. GREEN, C,P.A. FAX # (305)-294-4778 CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS.' MANAGEMENT LETTER
ra Ervin A. Higgs
Property Appraiser
Monroe County, . Florida
In planning, and p r drming our audit Of the inandi'al statements of the
Property Appraiser'of. Monroe County, Florida ("Property Appraiser"), for the
year ended September 30® 199 s we considered the .Property Appra'is is internal
control in order t0 det r ine° Our auditing procedures for the purpose f
expressing our opinion on the financial statementt. Although our audit was
not designed to, provide assurance on internal I control , andits operations, w
noted certain Matters involving internal central and, its Operation; and are
submitting for yo r° consideration related recommendations- designed to-help to-help the
Property Appraiser' Make improvements and achieve :operational efficiencies.
Our comments r° fl e t .our desire t0 be Of continuing assistance to the Property
Appraiser®
R Orte i rl ri Or Year @ s Mart del eel Letter Not °ITg Ln ented
s cf e tet� er 30m 1
There were ne recommendations and suggested accounting procedures -as Outlined.
in the Management Letter for the yearended- September 30$ 1997.
Current Year Findings
.One.
OTHER 'REQUIRED DISCLOSURES
Marva Green was the Auditor in Charge for the audit of the Property Appraiser°.,
We attest that the Auditor in Charge stet the educational requirements pursuant
to Chapter 11.45, Florida Statutes®
14-
The Property Appraiser was not in a state of financial emergency as described
in Florida Statutes, Section 216.503(1).
We have reviewed the annual report filed with the Department of Banking and.
Finance , for Monroe County, ` Florida pursuant to Section' 218.32, Florida
Statutes. This report is in agreement with the annual audit report which ..
incorporates the financial statements of the Property Appraiser.
Requirements-relative to' Public Records Modernization Trust money do not apply
to the Property Appraiser.
This report is intended solely for the information.of the Board. of County
Commissioners and others within the County, and officials of applicable
federal and state agencies. This restriction is not intended to limit the
distribution of this report, which is a matter of public record.
d-
Kemp & Green, P.A.
Certified Public Accountants
Eebruary_11, 1999
.15.