The Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller serves as Accountant to the Board of County Commissioners, and as Auditor and Custodian of County Funds.  In that capacity, the Clerk is responsible for keeping records and making required reports of all monies received and disbursed by the Board, as well as for collection, custody and disbursement of county funds. 

Responsibilities:

The Finance Department is responsible for all accounting and finance related activities including payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, asset management, financial reporting, debt services, and treasury management functions for the County, the Clerk, and Supervisor of Elections.

Services Provided:

As Clerk and Accountant of the Board of County Commissioners, Custodian of County Funds, County Auditor and in the role of an Elected Official, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller performs a wide variety of services for the citizens of Okaloosa County including, in part, maintenance of financial records, preparing reports, investing county funds, pre-auditing of county expenditures and maintenance of official records of the Board of County Commissioners.

As Accountant of the Board of County Commissioners & Custodian of County Funds:

• Provides accounting services to all departments under the Board of County Commissioners.
• Maintains the financial records and accounting system.
• Provides financial reporting for the Board to federal and state regulatory agencies and to the public.
• Handles investments of available county funds according to the Investment Policy
• Processes accounts payable and accounts receivable.
• Processes the County payroll.

As Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners:

• Attends all meetings, public hearings, and workshops of the Board of County Commissioners and other designated County Boards.
• Produces, records, indexes and distributes the official minutes of these meetings.
• Board of County Commissioners’ Board meeting minutes
• Maintains legal custody of the Official County Seal.
• Maintains custody of all County resolutions, ordinances and contracts.

The Florida Constitution provides for the Clerk to act as Ex-Officio Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners. In this capacity, a primary responsibility of the Clerk is to record and index minutes to the Board of County Commission meetings.  BOCC Records are searchable online using the link below.

https://okaloosaonbase.databankcloud.com/PubAppNet/Login.aspx

(Note:  For the best user experience we recommend using Internet Explorer to access the link.)

County Reports

Our office believes strongly in transparency and providing the public with information pertaining to the finances of the County.

BOCC Budget – The budget serves as the key tool for setting operational and capital project spending priorities and is legally enacted each fiscal year. Preparation of the proposed budget for direct spending by the BOCC is the responsibility of the County Administrator. After preparation, the proposed budget is then presented to the citizens and the BOCC at two public hearings in September. Final adjustments to the proposed budget may be made by a majority of the BOCC at these hearings. These hearings are also used to set the annual property tax millage rate. All budgets are required to be balanced, with all expenditures supported by identified funding sources.

http://www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/bcc/budget

Statement of County Funded Court-Related Costs – This report is statutorily required each year and is audited by the County’s independent auditor. The report shows the various court-related expenditures funded by the County. 

https://myfloridacfo.com/Division/AA/LocalGovernments/default.htm

Clerk Reports

Our office believes strongly in transparency and providing the public with information pertaining to the finances of the Clerk’s Office.

Clerk Annual Budgets – The Clerk of Court prepares an annual budget in accordance with F.S. 218.35.

Clerk Annual Financial Statements – The Clerk of Court is audited annually in conjunction with the Board’s annual independent financial audit.

https://flauditor.gov/pages/county_efile%20pages/okaloosa.htm

Clerk Annual Article V Audit – The Department of Financial Services audits our court-related budget for purposes of verifying the appropriateness of our expenditures of court-related revenues.

https://myfloridacfo.com/Division/AA/AuditsReviews/default.htm

Clerk Annual IV-D Audit – As a part of a State “pass-through” grant from the Federal government, our Child Support department is audited by a separate CPA firm to ensure these grant funds are used in accordance with the grant limitations. Additionally, our office is audited each year to establish a “IV-D Cost Reimbursement Rate”.