Res No 066-22-15819RESOLUTION NO. 066-22-15819
A Resolution instructing the City Attorney to draft a ballot question for the
Tuesday, November 8, 2022, general election, to amend Article IV, Sections 2,
Subsection F of the City Charter regarding transfer of unencumbered fund.
WHEREAS, Article IV, Subsection 2, Subsection F governs all modifications to the
approved fiscal year budget. It provides as follows:
Modifications (1) Transfer of Appropriation. At the request of the City Manager, the
Commission may at any time transfer, by resolution, any unencumbered appropriation
balance or portion thereof between general classification of expenditure within an office
or department. At the request of the City Manager and within the last three months of
the budget year, the Commission may, by resolution, transfer any unencumbered
appropriation balance or portion thereof from one office or department to another.
To:
Transfer of Appropriation At the request of the City Manager, the Commission may at any
time transfer, by resolution, any unencumbered appropriation balance or portion thereof
between general classification of expenditure within the same fund. aR effiee er
elepartmeRt. At tAe reetuest ef tAe City MaRager a Rel ·11itAiR tAe last tAree meRtAs ef tAe
euelget year, tAe CemmissieR may, e·, reselutieR, traRsfer aR'I uReReumeereel
apprepriatieR halaRee er pertieR tAereof from eRe effice er elepartmeRt te aRetAer.
WHEREAS, an "appropriation" as used in the City Charter is a law created by the City that
provides a department with budget authority, allowing departments to incur obligations and to
make payments from the City's coffers for specified purposes. The budget ensures that if the City
decides to make an expenditure in any one fiscal year, that there will be money available.
However, there is nothing in the budget that guarantees that the expense to which funds are
allocated will ever be paid, unless the funds are specifically encumbered to pay a specific
expense; and
WHEREAS, from the standpoint of the City's budget and transfers from one line item to
another, there is no meaningful financial distinction between transfers within a "Department" or
within an "Office" or between "Departments" and "Offices". Therefore, for the purposes of
analyzing the merits of the proposed amendment to Subsection F, "Offices" and "Departments"
will both be referred to as "Departments"; and
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Res. No. 066-22-15819
WHEREAS, the proposed amendment does not change the Charter requirement that all
transfers of budgeted appropriations always require City Commission approval at a public
meeting; and
WHEREAS, the Charter allows transfers of unencumbered funds between "Departments"
and it allows transfers from one general classification to another within a "Department".
However, there is no rational basis for distinguishing between transfers within "Departments" or
between "Departments"; and
WHEREAS, the City's chief Financial Officer has found that limiting the transfer of
unencumbered appropriation balance to the last three months of a fiscal year simply because
the transfer is between "Departments", as opposed to being done within the "Department" does
not provide any financial benefit or protection to the City and merely impedes the best interest
of the City and makes the financial administration of the City more difficult. In any event, these
transfers, like transfers within the "Department", will continue to be approved by the City
Commission at a public meeting; and.
WHEREAS, the City's finances will remain transparent even with the deletion of the last
sentence of Subsection F since the remaining language continues to require that all transfers
from one appropriation to another is done by formal written resolution that must be approved
at a public meeting; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires have the City Attorney draft a ballot question for
the November 8, 2022 general election to determine whether the electorate approve of the
proposed amendment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and
correct and are hereby made a specific part of this resolution upon adoption hereof.
Section 2. The City Attorney is hereby instructed to draft a ballot question for the
November 8, 2022 general election for the purpose of asking the City's electorate whether to
amend Article IV, Sections 2, Subsection F of the City Charter to eliminate the time restriction on
transfers of funds between City departments and offices.
Section 3. Corrections. Conforming language or technical scrivener-type corrections
may be made by the City Attorney for any conforming amendments to be incorporated into the
final resolution for signature.
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Res. No. 066-22-158 19
Section 4. Severability. If any sectio n clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is
for any reason held invalid or uncon stitution a l by a co urt of competent jurisdiction, the holding
will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of t hi s reso lution.
Section 5. Effective Date. Thi s resolution w ill become effective immediately upon
adoption by v ote of t h e City Comm i ss ion.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 7 th day of June, 2022.
ATTEST:
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APPROVED:
COMMISSION VOTE: 5 -0
Mayor Philip: Yea
Commissioner Harris : Yea
Commissioner G il: Yea
Commissioner L iebman: Yea
Commissioner: Corey : Yea