Mayor Lenny Curry spent parts of his birthday Sunday thinking about his budget before having a dream.
In it, he would walk into City Council Chambers today, be greeted with an overwhelming “Happy Birthday” message before the 19-member group passed his spending plan as is.
It didn’t quite go like that.
Instead, Curry delivered his first budget speech to the legislative group, giving what he calls a balanced budget steeped in discipline, accountability and urgency.
His list of priorities starts foremost with public safety, his plan calling for hiring 40 police office and 40 community service officers
Children also are addressed, with $3 million more slated for Jacksonville Journey programs.
And economic development is pushed forward through a $71 million Capital Improvement Plan, far above the barebones plan council worked with this year.
It’s a budget, Curry said, that has no “sleight of hand,” “gimmicks” or funding lapses that have cropped up in recent budgets.
Council members will spend the summer determining whether Curry’s priorities are their own.
Other areas, like the Jacksonville Public Library, UF Health Jacksonville and the Public Service Grant program all remained flat or relatively flat. Those areas have frequently been championed in several years by council members.
“That’s going to be the discussion,” said council President Greg Anderson.
Although he likes what he’s seen so far, Anderson said he’ll continue to look for ways to further fund UF Health, which he calls an essential service for Jacksonville.
Curry addressed that point specifically Monday morning, saying he’ll lead on the issue by meeting with hospital officials and the business community to find ways to grow commercial revenue.
Before he does that, though, he doesn’t want to dedicate any more taxpayer dollars than the just over $26 million the hospital is slated to receive this year.
He also said he’s allocated $5 million in additional funding for pension payments, the result of recent reform. Afterward, Curry was asked whether he’d consider a half-cent sales tax to help pay down the $1.6 billion unfunded liability for the public safety pension like what financed the Better Jacksonville Plan. Curry said he wasn’t ruling any idea out.
Council member Joyce Morgan said she’s encouraged by the early review of the budget, which is important given the transition of leadership. Like Curry, Morgan and 10 other council members are new to the job, having been in office just weeks.
Curry went out of his way to thank the eight returning members for their leadership.
Vice President Lori Boyer is one of those, having led the effort in the past year for a deep review on the city’s capital plan. It was her group that identified more than $50 million for capital projects that Curry said is built into his plan.
Boyer said she hasn’t seen anything in Curry’s budget that merits concerns so far and the $71 million is a “good transition number” to get Jacksonville projects going again.
While Curry’s birthday wish didn’t come to fruition, he was told it’d be given a shot.
Finance Chair Bill Gulliford told Curry he’d make a pitch to the committee to approve the plan as is, which drew a laugh from the mayor.
Dreams can become reality, he said. But the reality will take just a bit longer.
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