by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
It’s quarter to eleven on Monday morning. The fiscal concerns of a City Council member echo throughout the Council Chambers in City Hall as the rest of the Finance Committee looks on. Audience members sit quietly. Some wait to make presentations. Some wait to voice their concerns. Some simply pass time in glassy-eyed boredom.
At the apex of the table sits Finance Committee chair Reggie Fullwood. For the last year, some of the city’s biggest fiscal matters passed across his desk. In two weeks, he’ll pass the baton to the woman seated to his far right, fellow Council member Dr. Gwen Chandler. While the rest of the committee gazes out into the audience, Chandler’s eyes are pointed down, her body slightly rocking as she jots down notes. With the Finance Committee chairmanship comes a big responsibility and she plans to make the transition smooth.
“You know, the librarian in me always speaks to me — although I was not a Boy Scout — to always be prepared,” said Chandler.
Each year, City Council committee assignments change with each new Council president. Like his predecessors, incoming president Jerry Holland stocked Council committees with his supporters. He made sweeping changes in some areas, wiping committee rosters clean and filling them with new names and chairs, like Finance and Land Use and Zoning. For some, he left the leadership intact. Gwen Yates will still sit atop the Public Health, Safety and Education Committee. Elaine Brown will chair the Transportation, Environment and Energy Committee another year. Doyle Carter will lead the Special Committee on Cecil Field Redevelopment once again.
The big deal behind Council committees is they are where the real work gets done. By the time a matter is heard by the full Council, hours of preliminary committee work have already been invested. Very often, the Council relies heavily on the recommendations of committees.
Chandler is a first-timer to Finance and plans to “hit the ground running” with her new committee assignment. But, like the librarian in her to which she alluded, she is no stranger to budgeting. When not tackling constituent concerns, Chandler keeps track of money issues for FCCJ’s downtown library.
“I’ll be very diligent and thorough in my preparation and will keep a tight hold of the City purse strings,” she promised.
Chandler has already spoken with Council auditor Bob Johnson and other city finance experts. She also plans to meet with Fullwood to learn any pointers the outgoing chair can offer.
“You don’t want to go into a committee assignment as crucial as Finance unprepared,” she said.
It could pan out to be a busy summer for Chandler once the mayor’s office forwards the annual budget to Council in early July. The Finance Committee will study the proposal and then return it to the mayor by Sept. 1.
“We really have our work cut out for us,” she said.
Somewhere between her day job at FCCJ and her duties at Council member, Chandler will also have to find time to campaign. As of now, she is running for the Duval County Property Appraiser seat, currently occupied by Ernie Mastroianni. Once thought to be term-limited, Mastroianni may be able to run again as a result of a recent Florida Supreme Court decision. Chandler may suddenly face an incumbent if she continues to run.
“I’m looking at that with the eye of the tiger,” she said. “But with the onset of constitutional officers being able to run again and the possibility of an incumbent, I will have to go back and visit with my friends, family and countrymen to see which direction I will go.”
Faye Rustin will also have to balance her time between regular Council responsibilities, campaigning and her new committee assignments. She will take over as chair of the Land Use and Zoning Committee where often sticky situations between developers, property owners and the City are discussed. Like Chandler, Rustin has to play some catch-up to acquaint herself with ongoing land use issues. Unlike Chandler, Rustin has prior experience in the area having served on the committee from 1999-2000.
“I need to sharpen my parliamentary skills,” said Rustin who held no committee leadership positions last year under Council president Matt Carlucci. “I don’t want to go into a committee this heavy and not be prepared. I plan to spend some time with [outgoing chair Lynette] Self to find out where we are and what’s in the pipeline.”
Rustin will have to weigh her passion towards individual property rights against her understanding of eminent domain.
“We’ll have to take eminent domain problems on a case by case basis,” she said. “Most people have the idea in their head that they don’t get paid for their property or they don’t get treated fairly. Most of the time, it’s for the benefit of the community as a whole. It appears the government is taking from the person — and in essence they are — but it’s not quite so bad as it seems.”
Land Use and Zoning meetings tend to run long, sometimes from 5 p.m. until the wee hours of the next morning. It’s a high profile committee with plenty of rewards, but also tedious at times.
“It’s a rough committee,” said Rustin. “It’s almost like another Council meeting. I thought we would have to draft some people.”
Rustin is happy with her committee, which includes Council vice president-elect Lad Daniels, Gwen Yates, Jim Overton, Reggie Fullwood, Warren Alvarez and Lake Ray.
“Overton is probably as knowledgeable as anyone on the Council,” she said. “He certainly has more experience than any of us.”
The coming year promises to be busy for Rustin. Besides her role on Land Use and Zoning, she is a member of Finance, Transportation, Environment and Energy, the Value Adjustment Board, Special Committee on Legislative Issues, Veterans Affairs liaison, Jacksonville Economic Authority liaison and Council chaplain. Not to mention her reelection campaign.
“I will have my hands full and will be very busy,” she said.