Mayor Alvin Brown’s administration has put a stop to about $4 million worth of work still to be done at the almost-finished Duval County Courthouse, a move that has set up a fight with the courts and State Attorney’s Office on one side and City Hall on the other.
Among the items on which work has been paused: higher-priced furnishings for judges’ chambers, audio-visual equipment for jurors and — most contentiously — an elevated walkway long championed by State Attorney Angela Corey.
Following a long and contentious City Council oversight committee meeting Wednesday, the Brown administration also plans to look at the amount of space planned for the State Attorney’s Office, which has mushroomed.
The motivation behind the changes is the need to save money, the city said. With the changes, the final bill will be around $346.4 million, including $1.9 million in contingency funds, when the courthouse opens in mid-May.
“I went looking for cost savings and I found some,” city Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Belton said.
The biggest single cut comes in jettisoning the enclosed bridge that would connect the new courthouse and the old federal courthouse, where the State Attorney’s Office will be located.
The cost of that third-floor connection has fluctuated in the years the project has been under way, with the most recently approved plan costing about $700,000.
However, Belton said, the bill now looks to be $1.7 million.
“That is a problem,” he said. “I questioned that.”
The city has not discussed the changes with Corey, who said she thought any issues with the structure had been settled.
“As far as I know,” she said Tuesday night, “the bridge is on. I would expect to be notified if it was not.”
During the late afternoon committee meeting, a representative from Corey's office reiterated that complaint.
“We are astonished by the circumstances we're hearing today,” said Assistant State Attorney Cheryl Peek. “There was no consultation with the state attorney as to her needs.”
The city has also not discussed the cuts with the judiciary, said Chief Judge Don Moran, something he says contravenes a city ordinance that says the administration should consult with him and the City Council president before making changes.
“That’s not a good way to do business,” Moran said. “These are things we could have reached agreement on, but they’re not talking to us.”
Belton said he has not talked to either party, but members of the courthouse team have. At the direction of the council committee, Belton said he’d meet with the other stakeholders, although he doesn’t see things changing.
“I’ll have the meeting, but they'll have to show me why these are not cost savings,” he said.
Getting rid of the bridge is a particular flash point in trying to cut costs: Corey has long said it is necessary to provide for the “safety, security and efficiency of our lawyers and law enforcement officials,” who routinely transport evidence and documents from their offices to the courthouse.
“The bridge is the first thing that should get budgeted,” she said, with its cost a fraction of the $350 million budgeted for the entire complex.
Still, Belton said, with the price tag on the courthouse having ballooned since voters approved what was pitched as a $190 million project in 2000, savings must come from somewhere.
“This is just business,” he said.
The other cuts the administration has made include nixing expensive furniture such as $127,500 for furniture for judges’ robing rooms. Belton said he's been told the items also include a $5,000 desk, although Moran said that's likely a conference table.
Belton has also refused to pay for individual monitors on which each juror could view evidence, saying such multimedia displays are the responsibility of the state, which should pick up the tab.
The city also wants the judiciary to take its old furniture with it when it moves, which Moran said the judges have already agreed to.
“I do think the standards should be different than ‘if you pick it up and it doesn't fall apart, move it,’ ” the judge said during the committee meeting, referring to Belton's take on the issue.
In the wake of the committee meeting, the city plans to look at the amount of space allotted for the State Attorney's Office. Originally slated to occupy 170,000 square feet, the offices are now planned for about 200,000 square feet.
“The building is designed the way the state attorney and her staff want,” said Dave Schneider, the city's project manager, who said Corey objected to the 170,000 square feet recommended by an expert in the field.
“They originally did take the whole 240,000-square-foot building and we told them no.”
The money for the space is in the budget, but that didn't mean it had to be spent, said members of the committee.
“Taxpayers will appreciate us not spending it all,” said Councilman Bill Bishop.
Changes now might mean the office space is not ready by the time the courthouse opens, but Councilman John Crescimbeni said it still might be worth rebidding the work.
“If they get delayed,” he said, “they can ride the trolley down from their offices.”
For now, Belton said he'll set up the stakeholders meeting, and the council committee plans to reconvene soon. While that goes on, Belton said the finance department will review the rest of the work left to be done, to see if other savings could be found.
If they do, Moran said, he hopes they come and talk to the judges.
“The new administration wants to cut even more,” the chief judge said. “To the extent we can, we’re willing to work with them.”
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