A steady thread throughout Mayor Lenny Curry’s campaign was his desire to elevate public safety. Priority No. 1, he called it.
Not far behind was funding programs that benefit children and keep them safe before and after school.
His first budget speaks to both — and more.
According to budget legislation filed Wednesday, Curry wants to fund 40 more police officers and another 40 community service officers. He’ll put $3 million more toward the Jacksonville Journey programs determined after a review.
Sam Mousa, Curry’s chief administrative officer, has led a budget “swat team” for the past month that’s pored over city departments for revenue and expenditures.
It’s their work and Curry’s priorities that went into Curry’s first budget and that will formally be presented Monday to City Council.
The $1 billion budget also offers, what Mousa calls a “significant” capital improvement plan and an influx of new vehicles.
The city employee cap doesn’t take a hit and city departmental budgets will at least stay at current levels.
“Some got a little more … but nothing less,” Mousa said.
It was done without a tax increase.
But for those who will be reviewing the budget, another of Curry’s campaign promises rings true.
The total general fund revenue is $1,049,499,807. The total general fund expenses are $1,049,499,807.
A balanced budget, according to the charts. In the past few years, so-called “extraordinary lapses” showed undetermined cuts within proposed budgets.
Consider Council President Greg Anderson as among those with an early positive response.
“This budget has been balanced without an increase in taxes … and it seems the basic services the city is providing will be maintained,” Anderson said Wednesday afternoon.
He lauded Curry for his increase in public safety, but beyond that said he still needed to review the budget before commenting further.
Anderson and other council members will have plenty of time over the summer to do just that.
Here’s a rundown on several components of Curry’s first budget:
Public safety
Curry’s budget calls for a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office line item of $402.3 million — $4 million above the $398.3 million approved for the current year.
Within the latest proposal comes the 40 additional police officers and their needed equipment, as well as 40 community service officers who handle non-criminal calls. The cost for those officers and equipment came up to about $6.5 million, according to a breakdown provided by the sheriff’s office last month.
Part of that is funded through a $250,000 state contribution toward a Community Oriented Policing Services federal grant. Curry helped secure that funding, which survived a veto from Gov. Rick Scott earlier this month.
As for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, they won’t lose any firefighters. During those June budget talks, Mousa and company were told a grant that helped hire 67 officers during down economic times was set to expire in February.
Of those, 12 will receive an extra year of funding because they’re military veterans, but the other 55 were in peril.
Curry’s proposed budget for the department keeps the budget relatively the same year-over-year — increased about $600,000 to $210.7 million — and keeps those fire personnel in place.
Jacksonville Journey
Another much-discussed priority involved the prevention and intervention programs of the Jacksonville Journey. Mayor John Peyton started the crime-prevention initiative in his second term, with more than $30 million at one point being allotted.
Last year, it was $2.9 million.
Curry said he wanted to fund Journey programs more, but also review them before putting money into them. He’s doing both.
The Journey is slated to receive $3 million more under Curry’s budget, bumping it up to $5.9 million. But, that money isn’t earmarked for any particular component. Instead, it’s labeled simply as “Additional Program Funding” that won’t be disbursed until Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart completes that review, Mousa said.
There is no timeline for that review to be completed, he added.
While the Journey could receive that boost, most of the programs will receive fewer dollars. Programs for ex-offender employment, retraining and re-entry and juvenile crime prevention and intervention each are proposed to receive $50,000 less. Other cuts weren’t as much.
The one exception was an out-of-school suspension program that is proposed to receive $800,000 after being approved almost $623,000 in the current year.
Also related, the Jacksonville Children’s Commission is proposed to receive a bump. Funded at almost $23 million this year, it’s proposed to rise to $31 million.
Capital improvements
Capital improvements largely were halted this year while council members have dug down into city finances for projects past, present and future. The result has been clarity and funding that’s been spread to other projects.
Now, Curry is proposing to get the capital program back up and running.
His administration is seeking a $71 million plan for fiscal 2015-16, of which about $8.6 million is borrowed from the banking fund.
Headlining the list of projects is $5 million toward the issues surrounding the Liberty Street Coastline Drive roadway collapse near the Downtown riverfront.
Mousa said the plan is “really trying to accelerate” that project in a proactive way, although he cautioned it’s a long-term fix in terms of funding.
Other projects include $9.5 million in roadway resurfacing — up from $2 million-plus this year — and more than $7 million in Americans with Disabilities Act compliance in public buildings and structures.
Vehicle replacement
Curry wants to borrow an additional $24.9 million from the banking fund, almost $16 million of which would be used to replace vehicles owned by the city.
More than half of the 400-plus replacements would be for the sheriff’s office. The rest consist of fire and rescue, Recreation & Community Development, Public Works and even the mayor’s office, which is slated to purchase two vehicles.
As for the almost $25 million proposed to be borrowed overall, Mousa said the city would pay down somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million in debt.
Public Service Grants, libraries
Most of the city budget is staying relatively flat, such as Public Service Grants and the Jacksonville Public Library.
Grants go toward nonprofits and other quality-of-life entities, with heads of those groups in tight competition each year for the city funds. This year, Curry’s total proposed grant spending is about $5.1 million — slightly up from the $4.9 million or so approved last year.
As for the library, it’s proposed to receive about $133,000 more next year than what was approved this year.
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