OFFICE OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
117 WEST DUVAL STREET, SUITE 425
4TH FLOOR, CITY HALL
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202
904-630-1377
CITY
COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES – MAYOR’S BUDGET ADDRESS
City
Council Chamber, 1st floor, City Hall
July 17, 2017
9:00
a.m.
Location: City Council
Chamber, City Hall – St. James Building; 117 West Duval Street,
In attendance:
Council Members Anna Lopez Brosche (President), Greg Anderson, Danny Becton,
Aaron Bowman, Lori Boyer, Katrina Brown, Reggie Brown, Doyle Carter, John
Crescimbeni, Garrett Dennis, Reggie Gaffney, Al Ferraro, Bill Gulliford, Tommy
Hazouri, Jim Love, Joyce Morgan, Sam Newby, Matt Schellenberg
Excused: Council Member Scott
Wilson
Also: Mayor Lenny Curry; Jason Gabriel and Peggy
Sidman – Office of General Counsel; Kyle Billy and Kim Taylor – Council
Auditor’s Office; Cheryl Brown – Council Director/Secretary; Carol Owens, Jessica
Matthews, Philip Zamarron and Staci Lopez – Legislative Services Division;
Steve Cassada and Louie Marino – Council Staff Services; Mike Weinstein, Angela
Moyer and Teresa Eichner – Administration and Finance Department; Sam Mousa,
Ali Shelton, Jordan Elsbury and Jessica Baker – Mayor’s Office; Sheriff Mike
Williams; Fire Chief Kurtis Wilson
Meeting Convened:
9:00 a.m.
Council President Brosche convened the meeting; Council Member Carter
gave the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance. President Brosche introduced
Mayor Lenny Curry to deliver his annual budget address.
Mayor Curry reported that the successful resolution to the City’s
long-standing unfunded pension liability problem adopted by the Council last
year has provided the City with a solid financial foundation going forward. His
highest priority for that forward progress is public safety, beginning with
funding for 100 new police officers, a new class of Community Safety Officers
(CSOs) and 42 additional firefighters. The budget includes $13.4 million for
new and replacement JSO vehicles and $1 million for new and replacement Fire
and Rescue vehicles. The mayor announced a $50 million Safer Neighborhood
Investment Program, which will provide funding for new and replacement police
and fire equipment, construction of a backup emergency 911 call center on the
City’s Westside, and $8.4 million in capital improvements for Edward Waters
College. A substantial investment will be made in drowning prevention programs,
including additional year-round swimming lessons, upgrades to several pools
around the city, and more funding for lifeguards both at pools and at the
oceanfront parks.
The mayor stated that infrastructure will be funded through the
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) at a substantially increased rate. $8 million
is allocated to demolish the old City Hall and Courthouse buildings on Bay
Street to prepare those blocks for redevelopment. Funding is provided for
continued construction on the Liberty Street replacement project, as well as $1
million for downtown landscaping and $600,000 for interior restoration of the
Snyder Memorial building. Other CIP allocations include $12 million for road
resurfacing, $10 million for stormwater projects, and substantial allocations
for sidewalk construction and ADA accessibility compliance projects.
Mayor Curry stated that children are the “heartbeat of the city” and
said that he would henceforth be referring to “at-risk” children as “at-hope”,
emphasizing the City’s intention to improve their prospects for success in
life. He reported that his budget contains dollar amounts but few specifics for
the Jacksonville Journey and Jacksonville Children’s Commission, as those
programs will be substantially reformed over the coming months. He did say that
some funding will be reallocated out of these agencies into other departmental
budgets if they are not specifically child-centered.
Regarding City finances, the mayor said that the budget continues to
decrease outstanding debt as old debt is refinanced, locking in historically
low interest rates for the long term and reducing annual debt service requirements.
He is proposing $60 million for the pension reform reserve fund, and proposes
to increase the City’s emergency reserve fund target from 5-7% of General Fund
revenues to 6-8%, with funding for the 6% level in this year’s budget and the
expectation of funding 8% in FY18-19.
The mayor reiterated his commitment to the ideal of One City, One
Jacksonville.
President Brosche offered an opportunity for questions from council
members to the administration; there were no questions.
Meeting adjourned: 9:23
a.m.
Minutes: Jeff Clements, Council Research
7.17.17
Posted 10:15 a.m.
Tapes: Mayor’s Budget Address
meeting – LSD
7.17.17