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 AGENDA MEETING MINUTES


September 24, 2013

4:00 p.m.

 

Location:  City Council Chamber, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,

    

In attendance: Council Members Gulliford (President), Anderson, Bishop, Boyer, Carter, Crescimbeni, Jones, Love, Lumb, Redman, Schellenberg and Yarborough

 

Also:  Cindy Laquidara, Peggy Sidman, Paige Johnston and Jason Gabriel – Office of General Counsel; Kirk Sherman,  Janice Billy, Kyle Billy,  Kim Taylor and Phillip Peterson  – Council Auditor’s Office; Dana Farris, Paula Shoup, Juliette Williams and Philip Zamarron – Legislative Services Division; Steve Cassada – Council Staff Services; Jeff Clements – Council Research Division; Chris Hand and Teresa Eichner – Mayor’s Office; Wayne Young – JEA; Jack Shad – Public Parking Division; James Richardson – Neighborhoods Department; Lin White – Public Works Department; Angela Moyer – Budget Office; Paul Crawford – OED; Maxine Person – Sheriff’s Office; Annette Hastings – Tourist Development Council; Edward Suggs, Kevin Kuzel, Scott Wilson, Connie Holt – ECAs; Steve Patterson and Ron Littlepage – Florida Times-Union; Penny Thompson – UF Health Jacksonville; Connie Benham

 

Meeting Convened:  4:01 p.m.

 

Council President Gulliford convened the meeting and asked Peggy Sidman to give an overview of the process for hearing and approving the budget-related bills.  By state law the millage bills must be approved before the budget is approved so when the time comes for the budget discussion, the Council will first consider and approve any amendments to budget, which will then be temporarily tabled.  After a brief recess to allow the Council Auditor to calculate the effects of those amendments on the millage levies those ordinances will be amended and moved, followed by the final adoption of the budget ordinance.  Council members have proposed 34 budget amendments in writing which have been listed on a table, and there are 7 additional floor amendments.  The CIP bill has 6 proposed floor amendments and the Banking Fund bill an additional 4 floor amendments.

 

Council Member Crescimbeni confirmed that the order of action will be budget amendments with no fiscal impact on the budget, followed by multi-sponsor amendments, followed by single-sponsor bills in the order shown on the handout (which were placed in order by random drawing), followed by floor amendments not yet submitted. The Council Auditor’s staff will keep a running tabulation of the millage capacity being allocated by each amendment and will inform the committee when all of the capacity in the 11.5353 millage rate tentatively adopted has been used up.  Thereafter any amendment proposing to allocate funding will have to also propose a source for that funding outside of the millage revenue.

 

RCD Committee: Council Member Crescimbeni reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting.

 

Finance Committee: Council Member Anderson reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting, noting that the Council President will be re-referring 2013-564 (lease agreement in the Main Library parking garage with Enterprise Rent-A-Car) to committee for further consideration. With regard to 2013-532 (renewal of the TECO/People’s Gas franchise agreement) Mr. Anderson stated that he had not received all of the information he had requested and he and the JEA are requesting re-referral of the bill to the Finance Committee. Council Member Bishop noted that the franchise agreement expires on September 30th and the effect of that expiration is unclear. He proposed approving a 3-year extension tonight and then further consideration of the JEA’s concerns thereafter.  Chris Hand of the Mayor’s Office requested discharge of 2013-587 (appropriating $75,000 in private contributions to fund the Education Commissioner position) and action tonight, explaining that the bill was approved in one committee and only failed to be reported out of the Finance Committee because of the requirement for 5 positive votes.

 

PHS Committee: Council Member Carter reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting.

 

TEU Committee: Council Member Love reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting.

 

LUZ Committee: Council Member Boyer reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting.

 

Rules Committee: Council Member Jones reviewed the actions of the committee from its meeting, noting that 2013-600 (appropriating funding for creation of a City Magistrate position) will need to be moved for discharge from the Rules Committee.  The Finance Committee worked out the concerns at its meeting.

 

There will be an addendum to the agenda and 2013-679 (approving settlement of a dispute between the City and the Police and Fire Pension Fund board of trustees over purchase of the Haverty’s/Jake Godbold building) will be moved as an emergency.

 

Council Member Redman stated that he would be withdrawing his budget amendment marked at Redman #1.  Council Member Jones stated that 2013-580 (confirming appointment of Lara Diettrich to the Planning Commission) does not need to be amended as marked.

 

Meeting adjourned: 4:32 p.m.

 

 

Minutes:  Jeff Clements, Council Research

                9.24.13   Posted 6:00 p.m.

Tapes:      Council agenda meeting – LSD

                 9.24.13

Materials:  President’s marked agenda - LSD

    9.24.13