OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
CHERYL
L. BROWN 117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
DIRECTOR
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
OFFICE (904) 630-1452 JACKSONVILLE,
FLORIDA 32202
FAX (904) 630-2906
E-MAIL: CLBROWN@coj.net
City
Council Committee of the Whole on
Ordinances
2016-1 and 2016-2 – Meeting Minutes
February 18, 2016
3:00
p.m.
Location: City Council Chamber, City Hall
– St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,
In attendance: Council Members Greg Anderson (President),
Danny Becton, Aaron Bowman, Lori
Boyer, Anna Lopez Brosche, Katrina Brown, Reginald Brown, Doyle Carter, John Crescimbeni, Garrett Dennis, Al Ferraro,
Reggie Gaffney, Bill Gulliford, Tommy Hazouri, Jim Love, Joyce Morgan, Sam
Newby, Matt Schellenberg, Scott Wilson
Also: Jason Gabriel, Peggy Sidman,
Paige Johnston and Stephen Durden – Office of General Counsel; Kirk Sherman–
Council Auditor’s Office; Dana Farris, Carol Owens, Jessica Morales, Katrin
McDonald, Crystal Shemwell, Philip Zamarron – Legislative Services Division;
Steve Cassada – Council Staff Services; Sam Mousa, Kerri Stewart and Ali Korman
Shelton – Mayor’s Office
Meeting Convened: 3:02 p.m.
President
Anderson convened the meeting and the council members introduced themselves for
the record. Mr. Anderson explained the ground rules and procedures for the
meeting.
Council
Member Hazouri thanked his council colleagues for their time and attention to
this matter and encouraged proponents for the ordinance to keep meeting and
trying to refine a proposal to expand the coverage of the City’s
anti-discrimination ordinances.
Motion (Hazouri): recommend withdrawal
of pending ordinance 2016-2
Council
Member Gulliford announced that his offer to withdraw his bill (2016-1) was
contingent upon Council Member Hazouri agreeing to withdraw his bill
permanently. Since it now appears that Mr. Hazouri intends to reintroduce a
similar bill at a later time, he will not move to withdraw 2016-1.
Council
Member Katrina Brown took great exception to a recent article in Folio magazine implying that she and
several other council members were induced by the mayor to vote for withdrawal
of the bills by promises of funding for projects in their districts or in which
they are particularly interested.
Council
Member Crescimbeni announced that if 2016-2 is withdrawn at this meeting and
2016-1 is not withdrawn, then he will move to reconsider the withdrawal of
2016-2 so that both bills are kept pending together and dealt with at the same
time.
Council
Member Boyer reminded the council members that any action the council may take
on these bills is not the final word; whether they are ultimately approved or
denied, any council member can re-introduce another ordinance on the same
subject to reverse or amend the action taken now.
In
response to a question about his intention to re-introduce his bill, Council
Member Hazouri said it was his intention to re-introduce the bill after the
community has had more time to digest what is being proposed and to suggest
improvements that might make the new ordinance more palatable to a larger
portion of the community and to a majority of the council.
Council
President Anderson supported the withdrawal of 2016-2 in order to honor the
desire of the bill’s sponsor and in order to determine the effects the Mayor’s
executive order on the subject may have.
Several
council members advocated for and against withdrawal of the bills.
The
Hazouri motion to recommend withdrawal 2016-2 was approved 12-7.
Motion (Gulliford): recommend approval
of ordinance 2016-1
Council
Member Gulliford suggested that it is fairer to allow the public to vote on the
ordinance to expand the City’s non-discrimination protections than to leave the
decision to the City Council which is subject to intense pressure by lobbyists
and political campaign contributors. He also suggested that if the public
decides the issue by referendum it is far more likely that the issue will stay
resolved; the Council has been very reluctant to overturn the results of
referenda by subsequent ordinances.
Council
Member Bowman felt that if the matter is put to a referendum vote, then
Jacksonville will become a national and international spectacle for 6 months
while the debate rages and out-of-town interest groups flood Jacksonville’s
airwaves and mailboxes with advertising both for and against the proposition.
Council
Member Boyer agreed with Council Member Bowman’s fear that a referendum
campaign will become a battle of national forces taking place in Jacksonville
and expressed concern that holding the referendum could severely impact the
chances of success for the mayor’s proposed sales tax extension to fund
accumulated pension liability, assuming that bill emerges from the Florida
Legislature. Council Member Crescimbeni echoed the concern over the potential
impacts of a non-discrimination ordinance referendum on a potential referendum
on sales tax extension for pension amortization, which may be the most
important issue affecting Jacksonville’s future.
Motion (Crescimbeni): recommend
withdrawal of ordinance 2016-1 –
In
response to a question from Council Member Boyer, Deputy General Counsel Peggy
Sidman explained the Council Rules concerning postponement or deferral of
pending bills. Council Member Crescimbeni reminded the Council of the
ramifications of withdrawing a bill versus voting to defeat it on the ability
to re-introduce a substantially similar bill.
The
Crescimbeni motion to recommend
withdrawal of 2016-1 was approved 18-1.
Kerri
Stewart representing the Mayor’s Office explained the Mayor’s directive of
January 29, 2016 to the General Counsel, Employee Services Department and
Procurement Division regarding changes to City hiring policies and contracts
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of all currently protected categories
as defined by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission interpretations,
including “sex”, which shall now be interpreted to include sexual orientation
and gender identity. Specific instructions will be developed for the City’s
vendors to explain the new interpretation. Ms. Stewart answered questions about
enforcement and training on the new policy. In response to a question she
stated that the Mayor’s policy does not apply to the independent authorities.
General
Counsel Jason Gabriel reported that his office will be studying the question of
whether the Mayor’s policy can be made mandatory for the independent
authorities.
President
Anderson thanked the council members for their passion and civility in debating
this contentious issue.
The Committee of the Whole was in
recess from 4:34 to 4:42
The
Floor Leader explained the rules for the public comment period and noted that
the first speakers will be called from cards submitted by speakers who did not
get the opportunity to speak due to time constraints at the first Committee of
the Whole meeting two weeks ago.
Thirty-three
speakers spoke during the public comment period both in favor of and in
opposition to 2016-1 and 2016-2
The
Council President adjourned the Committee of the Whole meeting to convene a
special called meeting of the full council to consider the committee’s
recommendations.
Meeting adjourned: 5:46 p.m.
Minutes:
Jeff Clements, Council Research
2.18.16
Posted 6:00 p.m.
Tapes: City Council Committee of the Whole on 2016-1
and 2016-2 meeting – LSD
2.18.16