Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said his administration is analyzing whether to lift or relax city fees for businesses and individuals to aid an economic restart when COVID-19 social distancing ends.
Curry told business leaders April 9 that he wants to ease local government regulatory requirements to restart economic momentum when President Donald Trump fully opens the U.S. economy.
“We are now working on very specific things the city can do to make it easier on businesses,” Curry said during the JAX Chamber webinar. “Whether it be construction, developers, anything that we can do from a regulatory standpoint or a fee standpoint, we’re evaluating all of that. So when we open, we are open for business as a city.”
JAX Chamber President and CEO Daniel Davis moderated the webinar, with VyStar Credit Union CEO Brian Wolfburg and Curry as panelists. They took questions on the city-VyStar partnership creating a small business relief loan and grant program.
The mayor has not said which fees his administration will target.
During a virtual news briefing at noon, Curry said fee reductions will not be targeted to a specific industry or constituency, but the review will look at all city fees to determine if a reduction or elimination could provide individuals or businesses with relief or if it would help the economy.
Tax revenue to fall
Curry told Chamber members and business leaders his administration expects “to take a hit” on city property, sales and bed tax revenue because of COVID-19.
However, Curry told reporters he has had no conversations or thoughts about increasing property taxes to make up for the lost revenue.
“As we come out of this, I’m looking at ways to provide relief to people, not to add additional burdens on them,” Curry said.
For fiscal 2019-20, a Jacksonville homeowner with a $150,000 home and $50,000 homestead exemption could pay an estimated $1,144 in property taxes toward the city’s $1.37 billion budget.
Curry’s March 30 executive order limiting hotels to guests essential to the COVID-19 response likely will reduce the city’s bed tax revenue.
During the webinar, Curry repeated what has become a talking point during his coronavirus media briefings that the fiscal year 2020-21 and succeeding budgets “are going to be difficult.”
He said all programs nonessential to government will be reevaluated. Curry said city infrastructure, particularly in the neighborhoods, will be a priority to create jobs.
“My focus, my remaining time in office, is going to be making sure this city does everything it can to help people get back on their feet,” Curry told reporters.
“To help people get jobs. To make sure they can take care of their families. To make sure they have access to help if they need it. To make sure that the city has worked with local health care providers to plan for whether it’s another wave of COVID-19 or some other virus that could literally cripple an economy overnight,” he said.
“So, when I say for me politics is dead, if it’s not enhancing the life of someone, if it’s not helping people recover, if it’s not providing services the city of Jacksonville needs to provide, I don’t want to have any part of it,” Curry added. “That’s just where I am.”
Curry is leaving the city budget analysis to his CFO Patrick “Joey” Grieve and Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes.
When to reopen?
Curry said the unemployment claims number released April 9 will not dictate when he could lift the social distancing “safer at home” guidelines and allow businesses to reopen.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported 169,885 claims were filed in Florida for the week, down from 228,484 the previous week. Before COVID-19 hit, claims averaged about 5,000 a week.
“If we go back to work, infect a bunch of people and our hospitals pop, a bunch of people are going to die from COVID-19 and a bunch of people start dying from other things. Health care workers will be infected,” Curry said. “So, we have to stop the spread and flatten the curve before we go back to work.”
Fire station closed
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Fire Station 28 on Hogan Road closed April 9 after one firefighter began exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, Fire Chief Keith Powers said.
The shutdown affected 47 station personnel who are required to self-quarantine and be tested for the virus before they can return to duty, Powers said.
Citywide, 63 Fire and Rescue personnel are off-duty because of coronavirus exposure, according to the department.
Daily Record Contributing Writer Mark Basch contributed to this report.