It was right at 1 p.m. Friday when City Council Finance Committee Chair Anna Lopez Brosche made the remark that ended up signaling the end.
“OK,” she said. “We’re down to zero.”
With that, the committee’s annual budget review was over.
The budget process started out with a misstep when Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration inadvertently swept $4.6 million from a Downtown development fund.
It was thought the committee might have to decide whether to waive the law and drain the fund or keep it in place and have a large budget hole to fill.
Brosche said Friday afternoon the issue had loomed over the committee since the first day.
It turns out no choice was needed.
Over the past couple of weeks, Curry’s administration identified several sources of funding — lapses, refinancing and the like — that eliminated the quandary.
The biggest debate during the multiday review might have come Friday when the committee decided to pull $8 million from reserves to spend on extra capital projects.
A few ideas were pitched, but eventually members settled on spending $500,000 on library materials, $1 million on sidewalk repairs, $3 million to upgrade sidewalks to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and $3.5 million to purchase vehicles.
City budget makers typically keep 10 percent to 14 percent of the operating budget in basic and emergency reserves.
However, a better-than-expected council auditor’s report showing city finances for the year came in last week. It showed the $8 million could be pulled and still be in the 12 percent range.
Committee members decided the reserves should not be spent on recurring expenses and instead on one-time capital projects.
The boost was positive, but there is still a backlog of projects that need attention, said Brosche.
She noted the $20 million needed for remaining ADA projects that have to be completed in the next two years.
UF Health Jacksonville still could use more than the $26 million the city provides.
More public safety personnel are needed despite budgeting more than $4 million to add 40 more police officers and 40 community service officers for the second year in a row. And city employees still need raises after close to a decade of doing without.
While the committee work is done, the budget isn’t. The full council is scheduled to review the city spending plan in September and will likely tweak it further.
One expected decision could come in the form of $250,000 slated for Friends of Hemming Park to continue its operations of the Downtown venue.
A special committee will continue to meet about the topic in the coming weeks and offer a recommendation to the council on a direction, which could include a new manager for the venue.
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