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Sarasota County v. Town of Longboat Key

Supreme Court of Florida
355 So. 2d 1197 (1978)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Under Article VIII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, the transfer of a governmental function from a municipality to a county must be initiated either by a specific legislative act ('by law') for that transfer or by a resolution from the governing bodies of each affected government. A county charter ordinance alone is insufficient to initiate such a transfer.


Facts:

  • The Sarasota County Commission adopted an ordinance proposing five amendments to the county charter.
  • The amendments sought to transfer responsibility for five governmental functions from four municipalities within the county to the Sarasota County government.
  • The functions to be transferred were air and water pollution control, parks and recreation, roads and bridges, planning and zoning, and police.
  • The ordinance was proposed for a county-wide referendum without requiring separate approval from the voters of the affected municipalities.
  • The governing bodies of the affected municipalities did not pass resolutions consenting to the transfer of their governmental functions.

Procedural Posture:

  • Four municipalities (Town of Longboat Key, City of Sarasota, City of Venice, and City of North Port) sued Sarasota County in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (trial court).
  • The municipalities sought a permanent injunction to prevent a county-wide referendum on five proposed charter amendments that would transfer city functions to the county.
  • The trial court granted a permanent injunction, prohibiting the referendum from taking place.
  • The trial court found that the proposed amendments constituted an unconstitutional 'consolidation' under the Florida Constitution and were also unconstitutionally vague.
  • Sarasota County, as the appellant, filed a direct appeal of the trial court's injunction to the Supreme Court of Florida.

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Issue:

Does a county ordinance that proposes to transfer municipal functions to the county via a county-wide referendum, without being initiated by a special law or by resolutions from each affected government, violate the 'Transfer of powers' provision of the Florida Constitution?


Opinions:

Majority - England, J.

Yes. A county ordinance proposing to transfer municipal functions to the county government is invalid if it does not follow the specific initiation procedures required by Article VIII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. The court reasoned that while the proposed transfer was not a 'consolidation' under Article VIII, Section 3, because the municipalities would not cease to exist, it was clearly a 'transfer of powers' governed by the specific requirements of Article VIII, Section 4. This provision applies to all counties, including charter counties, and requires that a transfer be initiated either 'by law'—which the court interpreted as a specific act of the Florida Legislature—or 'by resolution of the governing bodies of each of the governments affected.' Because Sarasota County's ordinance was neither a specific legislative act nor agreed to by the affected cities, it failed to meet the constitutional requirements for initiating a transfer of powers, rendering the proposed referendum unlawful.



Analysis:

This decision clarifies the distinct constitutional procedures for altering local government structures, drawing a sharp line between 'consolidation' (merging governments) and 'transfer of powers' (shifting functions). It significantly protects municipal autonomy by holding that charter counties cannot unilaterally absorb city functions through a county-wide vote alone. The ruling establishes that the specific, protective procedures of Article VIII, Section 4, requiring either state legislative action or mutual consent, apply to all counties and cannot be circumvented by broader home-rule powers granted under a county charter.

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