The City Council Chamber on Wednesday afternoon was reminiscent of a shopping mall during the holiday season.
It wasn’t children waiting to sit on Santa Claus’ lap to list their wishes for Christmas. Instead it was filled with local officials, nonprofit leaders and others waiting to talk to the Duval County Legislative Delegation. To get their chance to explain the needs and priorities of their organizations or constituencies in anticipation of the springtime session.
Mayor Alvin Brown kicked off the dozens of speakers. He wanted the body to do what it could to extend the Enterprise Zone incentive, which has helped lure jobs through projects like FedEx and has bolstered the Brooklyn neighborhood. He also wants further investment in the film and TV industry.
And he wants financial stability through no cuts in state revenue sharing or the communications services tax.
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland wants the group to pursue online voter registration, which he said saves money and prevents fraud.
Jacksonville Port Authority CEO Brian Taylor talked about the necessity of deep water for future business.
University of North Florida President John Delaney was there to advocate for steady funding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics facilities that key in on advanced manufacturing.
Speakers continued to come to the podium through the early evening, but it was one of the first who broached a topic that’s been the issue of the day.
City Council member Bill Gulliford told the group he wants to see authorization for a dedicated half-cent sales tax to pay down the city’s pension obligations. It would take a referendum, but he said given the choice between a property or sales tax, people he has talked to favor the latter.
The two, he said, were really the only choices to more quickly pay down the city’s $1.65 billion in public safety pension unfunded liability and almost $1 billion in general employees obligations.
The tax would bring in an
estimated $63 million each year, he said, and could be applied to both problems.
Later in the evening, the lawmakers heard the opposite from Matt Carlucci, a former council president who has worked on a funding solution that involves a partnership with JEA. Carlucci has said any sales tax should be reserved for big-spending projects like removing toll roads and funding the Better Jacksonville Plan, both which happened while he was in office.
During the meeting, state Rep. Janet Adkins was elected chair of the delegation. She takes over for Daniel Davis, who did not seek re-election to the House after becoming head of the JAX Chamber. State Rep. Mia Jones was elected vice chair.
Adkins said her two priorities for the upcoming session would be pension issues at the state level and mental health reform.
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