Budget and audits — Barefoot Bay, Florida

The Barefoot Bay Recreation District posts every adopted budget since FY22 and every audit since FY 2017 under the Finance section of bbrd.org, alongside its five-year capital plans (BBRD Budgets).

Beyond the yearly documents, the Barefoot Bay district publishes bank reconciliations for its Florida Prime account with the State Board of Administration, a Valley National Bank checking account, Florida CLASS and the Florida Trust short term bond fund (BBRD Bank Reconciliations). General financial inquiries go to the Finance Office at 625 Barefoot Boulevard, open Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (BBRD Finance). That office, whose page gives its physical address as 625 Barefoot Boulevard, Sebastian, FL 32976, also bills RV lot rent and shopping center leases and works with the independent auditors each year.

The monthly reports are the closest thing to a running scorecard for Barefoot Bay. For the fiscal year that ran October 2025 through September 2026, reports for October 2025 through August 2026 were posted as of October 13, 2026 (BBRD Monthly Revenue/Expenditure Reports). The Treasurer's report for each regular board meeting is posted separately, and the first one filed under FY 2027 is for the October 8, 2026 meeting (Treasurer reports).

State law sets the posting floor. Section 189.016 requires a special district such as the Barefoot Bay Recreation District to post its tentative budget at least 2 days before the budget hearing and to post the final adopted budget within 30 days after adoption, keeping it online for at least 2 years (Section 189.016).

The Barefoot Bay Recreation District FY27 Adopted Budget, adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 23, 2026, totals $9,595,784 in revenues and sources and the same amount in expenditures and uses (FY27 Adopted Budget, page 1; page 3).

That is up from $8,899,156 adopted for FY26 (FY27 budget, page 3). In actual results, the Barefoot Bay district took in $8,653,247 in FY25 and spent $7,662,864, after $8,458,712 in and $7,330,751 out in FY24 (FY27 budget, page 3 for revenues; page 4 for spending). The FY27 plan rests on an assessment rate of $1,028.18 per year per lot; the district's assessment and fees page covers what an owner pays.

On the revenue side, the Barefoot Bay Administration rollup budgets $4,997,983 from the District Assessment Fee, $157,400 in interest income and $500,000 drawn from beginning fund balance for FY27 (FY27 budget, page 6). The rest of the money comes from the departments themselves: food and beverage sales, golf, recreation fees, storage rents and shopping center leases. The sharpest percentage change in the department table is Stormwater, which rises from $21,850 adopted for FY26 to $219,750 for FY27; in dollars, Property Services grows most, from $2,478,097 to $2,679,915.

Storage rents show how the smaller Barefoot Bay lines work. The district rents RV, boat and trailer spaces in the west lot and the Micco lot, plus kayak racks at the Barefoot Bay pier (FY27 budget, page 57), and budgets $271,700 in vehicle storage income and $4,056 in kayak storage income for FY27 (FY27 budget, page 58). The Vehicle Storage department budgets only $24,150 in spending for FY27, compared with $275,756 in budgeted storage income.

Under Section 418.304, the Barefoot Bay Recreation District trustees must adopt an itemized budget for the October 1 fiscal year on or before July 1 and fix the assessment by resolution on or before July 30 (Section 418.304).

The same section has the Barefoot Bay trustees prepare an annual financial statement of income and disbursements for the prior year by April 1 and publish it once during April in a county newspaper. A copy of the statement and of the budget goes to each owner of an improved residential parcel within 30 days, and both stay available at the district's principal office. Before the assessment resolution, the board holds a public hearing at which qualified electors of the district may be heard, with notice published at least 21 days ahead.

The FY 2025 audit confirms the Barefoot Bay board adopts a budget resolution on or before July 1 to fix the assessment and maintenance fee for the next fiscal year, and that the adopted budget may only be amended by a resolution of the Board of Trustees (FY 2025 audit, page 16). The FY27 calendar fit that pattern: adoption came at the June 23, 2026 board meeting, ahead of the July 1 deadline.

The FY 2025 audit of the Barefoot Bay Recreation District, by Forvis Mazars, LLP of Orlando, gave a clean opinion: the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the district's financial position (FY 2025 audit, page 4).

The auditors dated their report March 23, 2026, and their management letter says there were no findings in the preceding annual financial report (FY 2025 audit, page 34). They also determined that the Barefoot Bay district did not meet any of the conditions described in Section 218.503(1), Florida Statutes, the state's financial emergency tests. Their compliance testing disclosed no instances of noncompliance required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards (FY 2025 audit, page 32).

Management's discussion in the Barefoot Bay audit reports net position of $13,276,550 at September 30, 2025, up $385,626, credited mostly to higher food and beverage sales and interest rates (FY 2025 audit, page 7). The General Fund ended the year with $4,452,689, an increase of $1,008,661, and about 92% of it ($4,078,506) was unassigned. Capital assets fell by $498,612 as the district shifted toward rejuvenation and away from recreation improvement projects.

Florida's Auditor General rules make the FY 2025 Barefoot Bay audit report the district's assessment rate, collections, bonds and large projects, and those disclosures show a $972.49 rate, $4,739,423 collected and no bonds (FY 2025 audit, page 35).

The same page lists the Barefoot Bay construction projects of at least $65,000 approved by the district: a Lounge Walk in Cooler/Freezer Replacement at $158,594 and a Shopping Center Parking Lot Repair at $178,577. It also reports a budget variance of $569,802 between the originally adopted budget and the amended final budget. The auditors noted no recommendations to improve financial management.

The audit itself is a legal requirement. Section 218.39 requires any special district with revenues or expenditures over $100,000, a group that includes the Barefoot Bay Recreation District, to have an annual financial audit by an independent certified public accountant completed within 9 months after its fiscal year ends (Section 218.39). The report must be filed with the Auditor General no later than 9 months after the year ends, which for the September 30, 2025 year meant June 30, 2026.

The Barefoot Bay Recreation District FY27-31 Five-Year Capital Improvement and Project Plan funds $629,183 of projects in FY27, led by $200,000 for canal dredging and bank restoration under a Water Quality Improvement Grant (FY27-31 plan, page 1).

The canal project would dredge high spots in the Barefoot Bay main canal system and restore eroding banks, and the district plans a $50,000 funding match in the grant application to improve its odds. A $150,000 FRDAP Grant for golf course walkways works on 75% reimbursement and a 25% match (plan, page 2). Pool #3 gets $80,000 for resurfacing and $38,000 for a new heater, both at the end of their useful life.

Later years in the Barefoot Bay plan are mostly building upkeep. FY28 includes $76,000 to replace the Veterans Gathering Center and W&S Office roof with metal (plan, page 4). Many smaller items, from HVAC units to ceiling tiles, come from a capital replacement program built on a Facility Dude assessment of district buildings. Last verified: October 13, 2026, on the Barefoot Bay Recreation District Finance pages and in its posted FY 2025 audit.