Florida Special District Handbook Online

Section 1 - 3: The Special District Information Program

The Special District Information Program operates within the Department of Community Affairs and administers the general law for all special districts - the Uniform Special District Accountability Act of 1989:

The program does not have oversight authority. Instead, it has clearinghouse, technical assistance, and monitoring responsibilities with limited enforcement authority.

Special District Clearinghouse "One-Stop Shop" Responsibilities

  • To help more than 685 state and local government agencies (see list below) operate more efficiently, the program continuously gathers, disseminates, and updates information about special districts, then makes it available through the Official List of Special Districts Online. These agencies can access the specific special district information they need by creating customized reports. They use this information for such purposes as coordinating activities, compiling financial and other information, and monitoring special districts for compliance purposes. Citizens and the private sector also use the Official List of Special Districts Online to find out information about special districts. For more information, see Section 2 - 1: Accountability Overview - Local Government Financial Reporting System.
    • President of the Senate
    • Speaker of the House of Representatives
    • Auditor General
    • Department of Revenue
    • Department of Financial Services
    • Department of Management Services
    • State Board of Administration, Division of Bond Finance
    • All Counties
    • All Municipalities
    • All County Property Appraisers
    • All Tax Collectors
    • All Supervisors of Elections
  • The program reviews local ordinances and special acts of the legislature to determine whether an entity is a special district, and if so, it is dependent or independent status (for financial reporting and other purposes).
  • The program maintains a file on each special district that contains the special district's creation document and map, as amended, and registered agent and office information.
  • The program helps counties and municipalities understand how they can address community issues and generate revenues through special districts and how they must coordinate activities and financial and other reporting with special districts.
  • The program responds to citizen and private sector inquiries about special district matters.

Technical Assistance Responsibilities

To help ensure that special districts comply with the requirements of the Uniform Special District Accountability Act - and are thereby held accountable to citizens and state and local government - the program:

Monitoring and Limited Enforcement Responsibilities

The program monitors special district noncompliance reports prepared by four state agencies and any municipality or county, which are also monitoring special districts. These reports list special districts that did not comply with statutory reporting requirements. The program then works to help those special districts come into compliance. When special districts fail to come into compliance the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee may direct the program to initiate legal enforcement through the circuit court. Municipalities and counties may direct the program to declare special districts inactive for dissolution. For more information, see Consequences of Failure to Comply With Required Reporting.

Annual Special District Fee

Fee Schedule

The Uniform Special District Accountability Act requires the Department of Community Affairs to establish a fee schedule (see Rule 9B-50.003, Florida Administrative Code - Fee Schedule and Annual Invoicing and Data Updating) to pay the costs of administering the program. All special districts must comply with this requirement.

The fee schedule corresponds with the fiscal year that most special districts must use (October 1 through September 30). Around October 1 each year, the program mails a "Special District Fee Invoice and Update Form" to each special district. To keep the Official List of Special Districts Online up-to-date, this form also serves as an update form. Each special district must review and update, if necessary, the information about the special district on the form, and return it to the Special District Information Program along with the annual fee by the due date.

The Fee

For most special districts, the fee is $175 a year and is due within 60 days.

Prorated First Year Fee For Newly Created Special Districts

Each newly created special district pays a prorated fee for its first year of operation. The first year fee amount depends upon the quarter in which it was created:

  • First Quarter (October 1 through December 31) - $150
  • Second Quarter (January 1 through March 31) - $125
  • Third Quarter (April 1 through June 30) - $100
  • Fourth Quarter (July 1 through September 30) - $75
Zero Annual Fee

Special districts meeting all of the following conditions are not required to pay an annual fee:

  1. The special district is in compliance with its requirement to file an Annual Financial Report with the Department of Financial Services (for more information see Section 2 - 3: The Annual Financial Report).
  2. The special district reported $3,000.00 or less in revenues to the Department of Financial Services on its Annual Financial Report for the most recent fiscal year in which complete annual data is available from the Department of Financial Services. A newly created special district may attach a current income statement verifying $3,000.00 or less in revenues for the current fiscal year.
  3. The special district is not a component unit of a general-purpose local government as defined in the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's Statements No. 14 and 39, as amended. Questions concerning whether a special district is a component unit must be directed to the special district's auditor or the appropriate municipality or county. For more information, visit the following two pages on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's web site:
  4. The special district's registered agent certifies that the special district meets all of the above conditions by signing, dating, and returning the Special District Fee Invoice and Update Form along with the Zero Annual Fee Certification section by the due date. Upon verification, the program will approve the zero fee request. This is an annual process for all special districts wishing to qualify for the zero fee.

Failure to Comply with the Annual Special District Fee Requirement

Any special district not complying with the fee requirements by the due date will be subject to fines up to $50 (two late notices with a $25 late fee on each notice).

Any special district not paying the fee and fine will be reported to the Department of Financial Services, which serves as the State's debt collection agency, and could result in additional fees and a report of collection activities to the credit bureaus.