FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jim Lewin, Lee County Budget Services
              (941) 335-2336

LEE COUNTY FY2003 BUDGET BOOK NOW IN THREE FORMATS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (January 23, 2002) - Lee County Government has published its Fiscal Year 2002-03 Budget Book and this year it can be viewed in three different formats - hardcopy, CD-ROM or the Internet.

The 330-page book documents how the county spends taxpayer dollars.

The book can be purchased at the Lee County Administration Building, Public Resources, for $10, but copies are limited. Public Resources is located on the first floor of the Administration Building at 2115 Second Street in downtown Fort Myers.

The CD-ROM, in PDF Format readable by Adobe Acrobat Reader, is $2 a disk. The Acrobat Reader is actually installed on the disk.

And online, the full book can be viewed at www.lee-county.com under Online Documents.

The budget book takes three months to compile and is the culmination of an annual budget process that begins in March, with public workshops held during the summer and two final budget hearings in September. The county's fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The county's Budget Book has received the "Distinguished Budget Presentation Award" from the Government Finance Officers Association for the last 17 years.

The Internet version includes bookmarks that automatically pop up and allow users to easily locate what sections and tables they are looking for. The book is divided into the following categories:

A. Budget Message from the County Manager/Users Guide
B. Budget Summary, Includes color charts with current and historical information.
C. Financial Policy, Includes policies regarding the budget, revenue, appropriation and fund types.
D. Services By Organization, Includes organizational structure and responsibilities of County departments,       actual expenditures for FY2000-2001, estimated for FY2001-2002 and the budget for FY2002-2003.
E. Capital Improvement Program/Long Term Debt, Includes detailed presentation of capital improvement program and debt activity.
F. Budget By Function, Includes department summary according to Activity and Fund Type Categories established by the State of Florida.
G. Appendices, Includes discussion of Fund Structure, Budgetary Accounting Policy, Budget Process and Glossary of Terms.