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

 

Finance Committee Agenda Meeting Minutes

March 14, 2016

9:00 a.m.

Topic: Finance Committee agenda meeting

 

Location: Conference Room A, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,

Suite 425

 

In attendance: Council Members Bill Gulliford, Danny Becton, Lori Boyer, Anna Lopez Brosche, Reginald Gaffney

 

Also: Kirk Sherman and Kyle Billy – Council Auditor’s Office; Peggy Sidman, Paige Johnston and Stephen Durden – Office of General Counsel; Jeff Clements – Council Research Division; Phillip Zamarron  – Legislative Services Division; Sam Mousa and Ali Korman Shelton – Mayor’s Office; Mike Weinstein, Joey Greive and Beth Mangold – Finance Department

 

See attached sign-in sheet for additional attendees

 

Meeting Convened: 9:00 a.m.

 

Chairman Gulliford called the meeting to order and asked the attendees to introduce themselves. He reviewed the Auditor’s marked agenda which included 14 items marked for deferral, 26 items ready for action (1 as a substitute, 3 as emergencies) and 10 items for second reading and re-referral.

 

Mr. Gulliford announced that Council Member Lopez Brosche will make a report at the beginning of the meeting on the findings of the Subcommittee on Police and Fire Pension Fund Subpoenas at the beginning of the meeting, followed by a report on the proposed administrative reorganization (Ordinance 2016-14) by CAO Sam Mousa, followed by economic development incentive Ordinance 2016-197.

 

2016-113 (creating a new Code section regarding site leases for communications facilities on City property): Council Member Boyer requested that the bill be deferred and requested that the proponents of such bills meet with council members in advance and craft amendments prior to council meetings rather than expecting council members to make those amendments on the floor.

 

2016-157 (lease agreement with Jacksonville Symphony at Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts): Sam Mouse requested deferral of the bill.

2016-168 (approving Property Appraiser contract with private vendor to identify improper homestead exemptions): an amendment will be proposed to add a 5-year sunset provision to the contract. Council Member Gulliford suggested the need to do a complete review of contracts and fee ordinances to consider the need for sunsets. Mr. Mousa said that a review is underway and he believes some fees need to be repealed and others need to be increased after many years without change.

 

2016-176 (appropriating $1.88 million from Jacksonville Journey to neighborhood stabilization programs): Council Member Boyer requested that a schedule of specific uses be attached.

 

2016-144 (appropriating $255,000 for installation of playscape in Boone Park): in response to a question about why the bill was marked by the Council Auditor’s Office for deferral, Assistant Council Auditor Kyle Billy explained that the private funds have not yet been deposited with the City. Council Member Boyer noted the difficulty the City has in accepting private funds because of a “chicken and egg” dilemma – in a previous project the City wouldn’t accept private funding until an ordinance had been approved to accept it, but the ordinance couldn’t be passed if the funding hadn’t been received. Mr. Mousa and CFO Mike Weinstein said the City can accept the funds without a prior authorizing ordinance, but refunding the contribution if the project falls through would then require a reimbursement ordinance.

 

Chairman Gulliford said that he would be distributing a report on the City’s pension plans prepared by a company called Arabesque and will ask the committee members to review it and discuss it in 2 weeks.

 

Mr. Gulliford also said that he would be asking for an opinion from the Office of General Counsel regarding members of the previous administration who converted from the defined benefit to the defined contribution retirement plan and took a cash payout when they left office that they would not have qualified for under the 5-year vesting rules of the defined benefit pension. He wants to know what, if any, ability the City may have to recoup those payouts.

 

Meeting Adjourned: 9:17 a.m.

 

 

Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research

             3.14.16   Posted 11:00 a.m.

Tapes:  Finance agenda meeting– LSD

             3.14.16

Materials: Auditor’s marked Finance agenda

3.14.16