HB 0381 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to Trailer Estates Fire Control District,
3	Manatee County; amending, codifying, reenacting, and
4	repealing special acts relating to the district; providing
5	boundaries of the district; providing for a board of
6	commissioners; providing for election and organization of
7	the board; providing powers and duties of the board;
8	providing for a special assessment; providing powers and
9	duties of the district; requiring a financial statement
10	and budget; providing definitions; requiring a record of
11	meetings of the board; providing for filling vacancies;
12	providing for bonds; providing for severability; providing
13	an effective date.
14
15	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17	Section 1. Pursuant to section 191.015, Florida Statutes,
18	this act constitutes the codification of all special acts
19	relating to the Trailer Estates Fire Control District. It is the
20	intent of the Legislature in enacting this law to provide a
21	single, comprehensive special act charter for the district,
22	including all current legislative authority granted to the
23	district by its several legislative enactments and any
24	additional authority granted by this act. It is further the
25	intent of this act to preserve all district authority, including
26	the authority to annually assess and levy against each taxable
27	property in the district a special assessment not to exceed $75.
28	Section 2. Chapters 63-1587, 65-1894, 65-1895, 72-613, 80-
29	534, 82-323, 84-473, 94-373, and 95-503, Laws of Florida, are
30	codified, amended, reenacted, and repealed as provided herein.
31	Section 3. The charter for the Trailer Estates Fire
32	Control District is re-created and reenacted to read:
33	Section 1. Pursuant to chapter 63-1587, Laws of Florida,
34	all of the lands in Manatee County, hereinafter described,
35	became and were incorporated into and as a special fire control
36	district, being an independent special taxing district, a
37	political subdivision of the state, and having the powers and
38	duties herein set forth, under the name “Trailer Estates Fire
39	Control District.”
40	Section 2. The lands so incorporated being described as
41	follows:
42	(a) Trailer Estates Subdivision as recorded in
43	Plat Book 8, Page 138, of the Public Records of
44	Manatee County, Florida.
45	(b) First Addition to Trailer Estates
46	Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 9, Page 71, of
47	the Public Records of Manatee County, Florida.
48	(c) Second Addition to Trailer Estates
49	Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 9, Page 61, of
50	the Public Records of Manatee County, Florida.
51	(d) Third Addition to Trailer Estates
52	Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 10, Page 69, of
53	the Public Records of Manatee County, Florida.
54	(e) Fourth Addition to Trailer Estates
55	Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 11, Page 66, of
56	the Public Records of Manatee County, Florida.
57	(f) Fifth Addition to Trailer Estates
58	Subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 12, Page 55, of
59	the Public Records of Manatee County, Florida.
60	(g) The SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of
61	Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.; LESS: Land
62	Described in Deed Book 380, Page 451, Official Records
63	Book 208, Page 156 & 157, Official Records Book 240,
64	Pages 167 & 168, all of the Public Records of Manatee
65	County, Florida; ALSO LESS: The South 133 feet and
66	the East 290 feet of said SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the
67	SE 1/4.
68	(h) A tract of land in the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4
69	of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.,
70	of Manatee County, Florida, more particularly
71	described as follows: From the NW corner of said SW
72	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, run S.
73	88 degrees 30’ East along the North line of said SW
74	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4, 14.74 feet; thence
75	run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 100 feet for a Point of
76	Beginning; thence run S. 88 degrees 30’ East, 130 feet
77	to a point; thence run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 50 feet
78	to a point; thence run N. 88 degrees 30’ West, 130
79	feet to a point; thence run N. 1 degree 48’ East, 50
80	feet to the Point of Beginning.
81	(i) A tract of land in the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4
82	of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.,
83	of Manatee County, Florida, more particularly
84	described as follows: From the NW corner of said SW
85	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, run S.
86	88 degrees 30’ East along the North line of said SW
87	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4, 14.74 feet; thence
88	run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 150 feet for a Point of
89	Beginning; thence run S. 88 degrees 30’ East, 130 feet
90	to a point; thence run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 50 feet
91	to a point; thence run N. 88 degrees 30’ West, 130
92	feet to a point; thence run N. 1 degree 48’ East, 50
93	feet to the Point of Beginning.
94	(j) A tract of land in the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4
95	of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.,
96	of Manatee County, Florida, more particularly
97	described as follows: From the NW corner of said SW
98	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, run S.
99	88 degrees 30’ East along the North line of said SW
100	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4, 14.74 feet; thence
101	run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 200 feet for a Point of
102	Beginning; thence run S. 88 degrees 30’ East, 130 feet
103	to a point; thence run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 50 feet
104	to a point; thence run N. 88 degrees 30’ West, 130
105	feet to a point; thence run N. 1 degree 48’ East, 50
106	feet to the Point of Beginning.
107	(k) A tract of land in the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4
108	of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.,
109	of Manatee County, Florida, more particularly
110	described as follows: From the NW corner of said SW
111	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, run S.
112	88 degrees 30’ East along the North line of said SW
113	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4, 14.74 feet to the
114	East Right-of-Way of American Way (as per plat of
115	Trailer Estates, Third Addition, as recorded in Plat
116	Book 10, Page 69, of the Public Records of Manatee
117	County, Florida); thence run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 270
118	feet for a Point of Beginning; thence run S. 88
119	degrees 30’ East, 130 feet to a point; thence run S. 1
120	degree 48’ West, 100 feet to a point; thence run N. 88
121	degrees 30’ West, 130 feet to a point on the East
122	Right-of-Way of said American Way; thence run N. 1
123	degree 48’ East along the East Right-of-Way of said
124	American Way, 100 feet to the Point of Beginning.
125	(l) A tract of land in the SW 1/4 of the SE 1/4
126	of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, Twp. 35 S., Rge. 17 E.,
127	of Manatee County, Florida, more particularly
128	described as follows: From the NW corner of said SW
129	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 22, run S.
130	88 degrees 30’ East along the North line of said SW
131	1/4 of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4, 14.74 feet; thence
132	run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 250 feet for a Point of
133	Beginning; thence run S. 88 degrees 30’ East, 130 feet
134	to a point; thence run S. 1 degree 48’ West, 20 feet
135	to a point; thence run N. 88 degrees 30’ West, 130
136	feet to a point; thence run N. 1 degree 48’ East, 20
137	feet to the Point of Beginning.
138
139	Section 3. The business and affairs of said district shall
140	be conducted and administered by a board of five commissioners,
141	hereinafter referred to as the “commissioners,” who shall
142	organize in January of each year by electing from their number a
143	chair, a vice chair, a secretary, and a treasurer. The positions
144	of secretary and treasurer may be held by one commissioner. The
145	meeting at which the commissioners elect the officers shall be
146	called the “organizational meeting.” Said commissioners shall
147	not receive any compensation for their services, but the
148	secretary and treasurer may receive a salary not to exceed $300
149	per annum from the funds of said district for said officers'
150	services as secretary and/or treasurer. Each commissioner shall,
151	before said commissioner enters upon such duties, execute to the
152	Governor, for the benefit of said district, a good and
153	sufficient surety bond in the sum of $5,000 with a qualified
154	corporate surety conditioned to faithfully perform the duties of
155	commissioner and to account for all funds which may come into
156	his or her hands as a commissioner. All premiums for such surety
157	on all bonds shall be paid from the funds of said district. Each
158	member shall, upon assuming office, take and subscribe to the
159	oath of office prescribed by s. 5(b), Art. II of the State
160	Constitution and section 876.05, Florida Statutes.
161	Section 4. All district elections shall be conducted and
162	supervised by the Supervisor of Elections of Manatee County,
163	under the rules governing general elections in the County of
164	Manatee, except as may otherwise be provided herein. All
165	elections shall be held at the Trailer Estates Recreation Hall
166	in the district. Any registered voter residing in the district
167	may vote in a district election. Application for absentee
168	ballots may be requested from the Supervisor of Elections of
169	Manatee County within 1 year prior to each election, and shall
170	be counted once returned to the Supervisor of Elections’ office
171	by 7:00 p.m. on the day of each election pursuant to the Florida
172	Election Code. All election ballots shall be prepared by the
173	Supervisor of Elections of Manatee County. The commissioners
174	shall be elected in nonpartisan elections. A person desiring to
175	have his or her name placed on the ballot for election as a
176	commissioner of the district shall be a freeholder and qualified
177	elector residing within the district, as certified by the county
178	property appraiser and the supervisor of elections of said
179	county to be a freeholder and qualified elector according to the
180	respective official records of such officers, and shall pay a
181	filing fee of $25 or, in the alternative, the person may qualify
182	by obtaining the signatures of at least 25 registered electors
183	of the district on petition forms provided by the supervisor of
184	elections, which petitions shall be submitted and checked in the
185	same manner as petitions filed by nonpartisan judicial
186	candidates pursuant to section 105.035, Florida Statutes. Notice
187	of said election setting forth the names of the persons proposed
188	as commissioners of the district shall be in writing and posted
189	at the principal office of the district not less than 15 days
190	before the date of each election. Notwithstanding the provisions
191	of section 101.20, Florida Statutes, the publication of a sample
192	ballot is not required. The Supervisor of Elections of Manatee
193	County shall appoint inspectors and clerks for the election
194	whose duties shall be the same as similar officers in general
195	elections, except as herein stated. Said election may be by
196	ballot or by other electronic or electromechanical voting
197	system, and if by ballot the same shall be written or printed in
198	black ink on plain paper and shall be substantially in the
199	following form:
200	Board of Commissioners of the Trailer Estates Fire Control
201	District
202	(stating their names)
203
204	,and if by other electronic or electromechanical voting system
205	the requirements for the ballot herein described shall be
206	adapted to the use of such voting system. Election of
207	commissioners shall be held bi-annually on the second Tuesday of
208	November or, in the alternative, on another Tuesday in November,
209	in even years, in conjunction with any other special, primary,
210	or general election to be conducted by the supervisor of
211	elections, by electing two commissioners in 2004 and three
212	commissioners in 2006 for 4-year terms. In the November 2004
213	election, Seats #2 and #4 shall be filled. In the November 2006
214	election, Seats #1, #3, and #5 shall be filled. Commissioners
215	may succeed themselves in office. The term of newly elected
216	commissioners shall commence on the first Tuesday of January
217	following the election. Commissioners shall serve until their
218	successors assume office, except as otherwise provided herein.
219	The commissioners whose seats are filled pursuant to the
220	commissioners’ election in November 2000 (Seats #2 and #4) shall
221	serve until their successors assume office following the
222	November 2004 commissioners’ election. The commissioners whose
223	seats are filled pursuant to the commissioners’ election in
224	November 2002 (Seats #1, #3, and #5) shall serve until their
225	successors assume office following the November 2006
226	commissioners’ election. Each commissioner must be a qualified
227	elector at the time he or she qualifies and continually
228	throughout his or her term.
229	Section 5. The Supervisor of Elections of Manatee County
230	shall canvass the returns of elections and shall announce the
231	result thereof no later than the day following the election. The
232	expenses of the supervisor of elections for conducting each
233	election shall be paid out of general funds of the district.
234	Section 6. All vacancies occurring in the board of
235	commissioners from any cause shall be filled by the remaining
236	commissioners by the appointment of a successor commissioner or
237	commissioners from among the registered voters residing in the
238	district who are freeholders within said district. An appointed
239	commissioner shall serve until the next commissioners’ election,
240	at which time an election shall be held to fill the vacancy for
241	the remaining term, if any. Any commissioner failing to
242	discharge the duties of his or her position may be removed for
243	cause by the board of commissioners, after due notice and an
244	opportunity to be heard upon charges of malfeasance or
245	misfeasance.
246	Section 7.
247	(1) The district shall have the right, power, and
248	authority to levy special assessments against taxable real
249	estate lying within its territorial bounds in order to provide
250	funds for the purposes of the district. The rate of such
251	assessments shall be fixed by a resolution of the board of
252	commissioners, as hereinafter provided, but shall in no event
253	exceed the sum of $50 per annum on business firms and buildings,
254	$75 per annum on homes, $0.50 per lot on vacant lots, and $0.50
255	per acre or fraction thereof on unsubdivided acreage. Apartment
256	buildings and tourist courts are to be construed as business
257	buildings; provided, however, there shall be an additional
258	assessment of $0.50 for each rental unit. Trailers and mobile
259	homes with or without cabanas, carports, or utility rooms shall
260	be construed as homes.
261	(2) The county property appraiser shall furnish the
262	commissioners with a tax roll covering all taxable properties
263	within the territorial limits of said district upon which roll
264	said commissioners will place the levy for each parcel of
265	property shown thereon on or before the first day of June of
266	each year and any property owner in said district shall have the
267	right during the period between the tenth day of June and the
268	twentieth day of June of each year to file written protest of
269	the proposed assessments and the amount or rate thereof, and to
270	appear before the board in support of such protest; and the
271	board shall hold a meeting or meetings during said period to
272	consider and act upon any such protests.
273	(3) Immediately after the expiration of the period last
274	mentioned, the board of commissioners shall adopt a resolution
275	fixing the rates of assessment and shall return the said tax
276	roll to the county property appraiser, having first noted
277	thereon the levy against each parcel of property described
278	thereon, on or before the first day of July of each year. The
279	county property appraiser shall then include in the Manatee
280	County tax roll the assessments thus made by the Board of
281	Commissioners of the Trailer Estates Fire Control District and
282	the same shall be collected in the manner and form as is
283	provided for the collection of county taxes and paid over by the
284	county tax collector to the board of commissioners in the manner
285	and form as is provided for the disbursement of county taxes.
286	The county tax collector and the county property appraiser shall
287	receive commissions and fees for assessing and collecting such
288	assessments, of one and one-half percent to the tax collector
289	and one and one-half percent to the property appraiser, instead
290	of the same commissions and fees usually earned for the
291	assessment and collection of county taxes. Further, the services
292	of the property appraiser and the tax collector under this act
293	are hereby declared to be special services performed directly
294	for the district, and any payment therefor shall not be personal
295	income of such official but shall be income to said official’s
296	office.
297	Section 8. Such special assessments shall be a lien upon
298	the land so assessed along with the county taxes assessed
299	against the same until said assessments and taxes have been
300	paid, and if the same become delinquent, shall be considered a
301	part of the county tax, subject to the same penalties, charges,
302	fees, and remedies for enforcement and collection as provided by
303	the laws of the state for the collection of such taxes.
304	Section 9. The proceeds of said assessments and the funds
305	of the district shall be deposited in the name of the district
306	in a qualified public depository as defined by Florida law,
307	which depository shall be designated by resolution of the Board
308	of Commissioners. No funds of the district shall be disbursed
309	save and except by check or draft signed by any two
310	commissioners.
311	Section 10. The fiscal year of the district shall commence
312	October 1 of each year and end on September 30 of the following
313	year. The commissioners shall, on or before April 1 of each
314	year, prepare an annual financial statement of income and
315	disbursements during the prior fiscal year. On or before
316	September 1 of each year, the commissioners shall prepare and
317	adopt an itemized budget showing the amount of money necessary
318	for the operation of the district for the next fiscal year, and
319	the district assessment to be assessed and collected upon the
320	taxable property of the district for the next ensuing year. A
321	copy of the annual financial statement and a copy of the budget
322	shall be made available for public inspection at the principal
323	office of the district at reasonable hours.
324	Section 11. The district may acquire and hold real and
325	personal property, sue and be sued, enter into contracts, and
326	perform other functions necessary or desirable to the carrying
327	out of the provisions and intent of this act. No debt shall be
328	created without the approval of the board of commissioners.
329	Section 12. The board of commissioners shall have the
330	power and authority to borrow money for the purposes of the
331	district in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the total tax
332	assessment of the year when such borrowing is done, provided,
333	however, that the total accumulative debt of the district shall
334	never exceed 50 percent of the total special assessment in any 1
335	year. Neither the district commissioners as a body nor any one
336	of them as an individual shall be personally or individually
337	liable for the repayment of such loan, such repayment shall be
338	made out of tax receipts of the district. Except as provided in
339	this paragraph, the district commissioners shall not create any
340	indebtedness or incur obligations for any sum or amount which
341	the commissioners are unable to repay out of district funds then
342	in their hands, provided, that the district commissioners may
343	make purchases of equipment together with funds for the erection
344	or improvement of a fire station and/or ancillary structures of
345	the district on an installment basis as necessary if funds are
346	available for the payment of the current year’s installment on
347	such equipment or building loan plus the amount due in that year
348	on any other installments and/or the repayment of any bank loan
349	or other existing indebtedness which may be due that year.
350	Section 13. No funds of said district shall be used for
351	any purposes other than the administration of the affairs and
352	business of the district; the protection and preservation of
353	life and property; the prevention and elimination of fires; the
354	construction, care, maintenance, upkeep, operation, and purchase
355	of fire fighting and rescue equipment or a fire station and any
356	ancillary structures; installation of fire hydrants; payments of
357	public utilities such as electric lights and water; and payments
358	of salaries of a fire marshal and one or more firefighters as
359	the board of commissioners may from time to time determine to be
360	for the best interests of the district.
361	Section 14. The board of commissioners shall have the
362	power and the authority to buy, sell, trade, rent, or lease real
363	and personal property or otherwise dispose of surplus real or
364	personal property in the name of the district; to deliver
365	purchase money notes and mortgages or to assume the obligation
366	of existing mortgages in connection with the acquisition of
367	property of the district; to mortgage real and personal property
368	when necessary to carry out the district’s duties and authority
369	under this act; to receive gifts of real or personal property;
370	and to acquire by gift or purchase a fire station and station
371	site and such fire fighting and rescue equipment as is deemed
372	necessary for the protection of said district. The board of
373	commissioners shall have the power to cooperate or contract with
374	other persons or entities, including other governmental
375	agencies, as necessary, convenient, incidental, or proper in
376	connection with providing effective mutual aid and furthering
377	any power, duty, or purpose authorized hereunder.
378	Section 15.
379	(1) The members of the board of commissioners shall have
380	the duties usually pertaining to, vested in, and incumbent upon
381	like officers. A record shall be kept of all meetings of the
382	board of commissioners, and in such meetings concurrence of a
383	majority of said commissioners shall be necessary to any
384	affirmative action taken by the board. The board of
385	commissioners shall keep a permanent record book in which the
386	minutes of all meetings, resolutions, proceedings, certificates,
387	bonds given by commissioners, and corporate acts shall be
388	recorded. The record book shall be open to inspection in the
389	same manner as state, county, and municipal records are open
390	under Florida law. The record book shall be kept at the
391	principal office of the district.
392	(2) The board of commissioners may adopt such bylaws and
393	rules and regulations not inconsistent with any portion of this
394	act, as it may deem necessary in and about the transaction of
395	its business and in carrying out the provisions of this act.
396	(3) The board of commissioners shall have the right,
397	power, and authority to employ by written contract the services
398	of a technical advisor who is thoroughly familiar with the
399	details and operations of a fire control district for any and
400	all such technical advice as may be necessary to make the fire
401	control district operative in accordance with this act, and fees
402	for such services shall be payable from the funds of the said
403	fire control district. The board of commissioners is hereby
404	authorized to employ and to enter into agreements or contracts
405	with consultants, engineers, attorneys, and fiscal, financial,
406	or other experts to perform planning, engineering, legal,
407	financial, or other professional services for the district, or
408	any asset thereof, upon such terms and conditions as the
409	commissioners shall deem desirable and proper.
410	Section 16.
411	(1) The board of commissioners of said district may
412	appoint a fire marshal, who shall be a person experienced in all
413	types of fire fighting and fire prevention and who shall work
414	with and cooperate with the Florida State Forestry Service in
415	which the district is situated, in the prevention of fires of
416	all types.
417	(2) Said fire marshal shall be required to inspect all
418	places of business, apartment houses, hotels, motels, and other
419	buildings within the territorial limits of the district wherein
420	large groups of people might congregate to determine that such
421	places have proper fire extinguishers and fire escapes, at least
422	two times each year, and shall submit a report on same to the
423	board of commissioners.
424	Section 17. The special fire control district shall exist
425	until dissolved by law. Should any part of the territory covered
426	in this act be held not to be included herein, then this act
427	shall continue in effect as to the balance of the said
428	territory. The district may be abolished by a majority vote of
429	the registered voters residing in the district at an election
430	called by the board of commissioners for such purpose, which
431	election shall be held and notice thereof given under the same
432	requirements as are set forth hereunder for the election of
433	commissioners and the levying and collecting of the district
434	assessments. Provided that the district shall not be abolished
435	while it has outstanding indebtedness without first making
436	adequate provision for the liquidation of such outstanding
437	indebtedness and provided, further, that the real and personal
438	property of the district shall be conveyed or otherwise
439	transferred by gift by the board of commissioners to the Trailer
440	Estates Park and Recreation District, being a political
441	subdivision of the state.
442	Section 18. Commissioners not guilty of malfeasance in
443	office shall be relieved of any personal liability for any acts
444	done by them while holding office in the district; and any
445	commissioner who is made a party to any action, suit, or
446	proceeding solely by reason of holding office in the district
447	shall be indemnified by the district against reasonable
448	expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by said
449	commissioner in defending such suit, action, or proceeding,
450	except with respect to matters wherein it shall be adjudged in
451	such proceeding that such commissioner is liable for negligence
452	or misconduct in the performance of the commissioner’s duties.
453	Section 19. No suit, action, or proceeding shall be
454	instituted or maintained in any court against said district or
455	the commissioners, or any commissioner thereof, for or upon any
456	claim, right, or demand of any kind or nature, unless the person
457	or persons making such claim or demand or claiming such right
458	shall have within 30 days after the alleged accrual of such
459	claim, right, or demand, given to the commissioners, or one of
460	them, a notice in writing setting forth the nature of the right,
461	claim, or demand, the amount thereof, the place and manner in
462	which such claim or right accrued, together with the names and
463	addresses of all witnesses by whom such claims, rights, or
464	demands are to be proved or established, all with sufficient
465	detail to enable the district and the commissioners to fully
466	investigate such claim, right, or demand; and no suit, action,
467	or proceeding or any such demand shall be instituted within 3
468	months after such notice shall be given.
469	Section 20. The word “district” shall mean the special
470	fire control district hereby organized; the words “board” and
471	“board of commissioners” shall mean the board of commissioners
472	of and for the special fire control district hereby created when
473	used in this act, unless otherwise specified.
474	Section 21. If any clause, section, or provision of this
475	act shall be declared to be unconstitutional or invalid for any
476	cause or reason, the same shall be eliminated from this act, and
477	the remaining portion of said act shall be in force and effect
478	and be as valid as if such invalid portion thereof had not been
479	incorporated therein.
480	Section 22. That all laws or parts of laws in conflict
481	herewith are, to the extent of such conflict, hereby repealed.
482	Section 23. This provisions of this act shall be liberally
483	construed in order to effectively carry out the purposes of this
484	act in the interest of the public.
485	Section 4. Chapters 63-1587, 65-1894, 65-1895, 72-613, 80-
486	534, 82-323, 84-473, 94-373, and 95-503, Laws of Florida, are
487	repealed.
488	Section 5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.