Judges: Jim Smith, Attorney General Prepared by: Anne Curtis Terry, Assistant Attorney General
Filed Date: 1/27/1983
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Mr. Terence M. Brown City Attorney City of Starke 142 West Call Street Post Office Drawer 40 Starke, Florida 32091
Dear Mr. Brown:
This is in response to your request for an opinion on substantially the following question:
MAY THE CITY OF STARKE CONTRIBUTE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO A NONPROFIT CORPORATION'S FOOTBALL PROGRAM?
Your inquiry states that the City of Starke annually spends a significant amount of money funding a recreation department. This year your city commission, believing that it is more economical to encourage the involvement of private organizations in recreation, desires to contribute to the funding of a "Pop-Warner" football program. The commission wishes to fund the program, which is operated by a nonprofit corporation, either directly, or indirectly through the purchase of equipment. Thus, you ask whether the city may lawfully fund the programs of such a nonprofit corporation.
For the following reasons, your question is answered in the affirmative.
It is axiomatic that municipal funds may be used only for a municipal purpose, and only when properly budgeted for such purpose. AGO 72-198, s 10, Art. VII, State Const. As noted in AGO 77-27, the purpose of s 10, Art. VII (which prohibits the state, a county, municipality, school district, special district, or any agency thereof from lending or using its taxing power or credit to aid any corporation, association, partnership or person) is to protect public funds and resources from being exploited in assistance or promotion of private ventures when the public would be at most incidentally benefitted. See, e.g., Bannon v. Port of Palm Beach District,
In AGO 72-198, my predecessor in office concluded that a municipality could expend public funds by contribution to a private nonprofit organization which operated a drug rehabilitation program since the rehabilitation constituted a public purpose. See also, AGO 75-71 (public purposes may be carried out through private nonprofit corporations as well as through public agencies); Florida Little Major League Assoc., Inc. v. Gulfport Lions Little League,
In light of the above authorities (and assuming that the nonprofit corporation in question bears all of the earmarks of a "nonprofit quasi-public corporation" as described above) it is my opinion that the City of Starke may contribute to a nonprofit corporation's football program in lieu of funding this activity through a city department, since such a program would appear to benefit the public by meeting the need for a public recreation program.
In summary, the City of Starke may contribute, directly or indirectly to a nonprofit quasi-public corporation's football program, if such a program is open to the public and satisfies a need for a public recreation program.
Sincerely,
Jim Smith, Attorney General
Prepared by: Anne Curtis Terry, Assistant Attorney General
O'NEILL v. Burns , 198 So. 2d 1 ( 1967 )
Florida Little Major League Ass'n v. Gulfport Lion's Little ... , 1961 Fla. App. LEXIS 2975 ( 1961 )
State v. SUNRISE LAKES PHASE II SPECIAL REC. , 383 So. 2d 631 ( 1980 )
Bannon v. Port of Palm Beach District , 246 So. 2d 737 ( 1971 )
Hanna v. Sunrise Recreation , 94 So. 2d 597 ( 1957 )