TU: Jacksonville City Council, Mayor Brown tussle over budgeting vs. reorganization

[Patricia M. McBride]

Have you sent an Email to your city council person, called them, gone to city hall to speak to them or written a letter and mailed it.  This is VERY important.  If the cuts do not take place, not only will we be stuck with the huge garbage fee increase, the council will raise property taxes yet again!  No business is going to move into a city that raises taxes and fees every single year folks.

Jacksonville's mayor and council Finance Committee argue over budgeting vs. reorganization.

Posted: September 12, 2011 - 12:00am | Updated: September 12, 2011 - 7:21am

By Timothy J. Gibbons jacksonville.com Copyright 2011 The Florida Times-Union. All rights reserved. This m...

September 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Jacksonville City Council, Mayor Brown tussle over budgeting vs. reorganization

The thought first came up when the Jacksonville City Council's Finance Committee cut ideas out of Mayor Alvin Brown's proposed city budget: Getting the budget pulled together is not the time to reorganize government.

Now, the administration is using the same argument as it pushes back against cuts made by the council committee.

Although Brown submitted a balanced budget that includes no tax or fee increases, it saved millions by pushing off an actuarial review of the city's pension system that was originally scheduled to take place this year.

That review is expected to show that the city has to put about $5.8 million into the system - and the committee has said it wants it done in the coming year.

To make up that money, city departments have laid out 33 reductions that include the elimination of 16 jobs, the shuttering of the Maxville branch library and cutting back on items such as grass mowing and breakfasts at senior centers.

Making those changes amounts to a haphazard way of restructuring, say members of the mayor's staff.

"This produces a reorganization through the budget," chief of staff Chris Hand said, one that doesn't take into consideration the city's priorities.

Some of the cuts on the new list submitted to the full council may otherwise be included in the reorganization plan, said Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Hyde, but would better fit with other changes.

Brown plans to finalize his reorganization plans in the next few weeks, he has said.

The administration is fighting the cuts on a more practical level: Constituents don't want them.

Duval is the only county in Florida with cases of West Nile virus, the administration notes. Is now the time to defund a pilot of sprays for the bugs?

(Similar arguments, it should be noted, have been made by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and others when they have been asked to make cuts.)

Staff members also cite cuts in library hours and staff that will slow the permitting process as changes they expect the public to resist.

As the budget moves to the full council Tuesday, the mayor's staff said they're speaking to council members about the way forward.

"Some of these cuts will impact economic development and quality of life," Hand said. "Each council member has to judge that for him- or herself."

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-09-12/story/jacksonville-ci...