The pushback came from residents and some City Council members alike, but ultimately the budget work of the council Finance Committee passed its first big hurdle Tuesday.
The meeting served as the first time the full council had an opportunity to weigh in on the decisions the committee made over the month of August and early September in balancing a budget.
Those decisions included holding the employee cap and keeping spending at the same level as this year’s budget while mostly rejecting new borrowing for capital projects and rejecting one-time money for balancing operations.
Yet, not everyone was on board.Council member Denise Lee offered two floor amendments that would have restored funding increases for public safety-related issues she has been passionate about: blight cleanup and hiring police officers.
But, with the funding source coming from spending reserves, the majority of her colleagues couldn’t sign on. The amendments were defeated 13-5.
“Once you’ve opened the floodgates, folks, then everything else we’ve evaluated is equally important,” said council member Bill Gulliford speaking in response to Lee’s blight amendment.
He made a commitment to find an ongoing annual source of funding for the effort, but couldn’t commit to using the one-time money.
Lee bolstered her case by listing off crime statistics in areas of the city, with the majority coming from minority districts. “Do you really believe that every cut you made is the same?” Lee asked of the committee’s effort.
Council members Reggie Brown and Warren Jones spoke in favor of the amendments. Jones said he appreciated the work the Finance Committee put it, but the problem with treating everybody equaling is that “we’re not all equal.”
After both ideas went down, Lee said she was committed over the next two weeks to finding a way to further fund the initiatives. Council members next meet Sept. 23, the final full meeting before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.
Before the budget bill was debated on the floor, residents voiced their concerns over various decisions the committee made. Many came out in support to further fund Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. Several spoke in favor of keeping the Maxville branch library open. The elimination of Victim Services was another issue several spoke in favor of keeping.
Finance Committee Chair Richard Clark said he knew the evening was to be the “first very, very big test” of the committee’s work.
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