by Bailey White
Staff Writer
The Downtown Council of the Chamber of Commerce was updated Friday about plans to rewire the City, which would increase connections among government offices, link schools electronically — and save taxpayers about $2 million a year in the bargain.
Rick Mullaney, chairman of the Telecommunications Task Force, spoke to the Downtown Council about the Telecommunications Master Plan, which was presented to City Council late last month. During Friday’s meeting, Mullaney focused on the most significant of these recommendations, JAXMAN.
JAXMAN, which stands for the City of Jacksonville Metropolitan Network, calls for the creation of a metropolitan area network for all public entities within the consolidated government, giving them gigabit ethernet capabilities, or very high-speed connections.
Mullaney has said JAXMAN has the ability to have a great impact education.
“This would provide gigabit ethernet to all 163 public schools in the county,” he said last month. “With that level of broadband width, there could be live video conferencing between schools, we could better utilize the Schultz Center for leadership training and the professional development of teachers, and it will also support the mayor’s early literacy initiative.”
He also said JAXMAN would provide tools necessary in an economy that more than ever focuses on education, literacy and skills.
“It isn’t just an amenity or a luxury, but broadband is a part of the fundamental infrastructure of a knowledge-based economy,” he said.
When Mullaney, along with members of JEA and Black & Veatch, the consulting firm that conducted the study, presented the plan to Council, they also recommended the creation of a JAXMAN Implementation Task Force that would have three main areas of focus.
“The JAXMAN Implementation Task Force would examine the best possible management of JAXMAN — whether it is through the City or a private entity,” said Mullaney. “It would also take a look at the engineering and technological requirements of the plan, though Black & Veatch has already done a lot of work in that area.”
The third area of focus for task force is the financial side of JAXMAN. While the plan would actually save the City money, the task force would be charged with taking a comprehensive look at the budget and examining the potential for additional revenue.
At this point, the City Council could choose to pass a resolution calling for the creation of JAXMAN and the JAXMAN Implementation Task Force or it could put together an ordinance creating JAXMAN.
Mullaney said there isn’t a specific timeline for the plan, but he praised the City leadership for its ability to focus on the long term.
“The reason North Florida, and Jacksonville, in particular, is the envy of the rest of the state is because of our great leadership that looks long term, which isn’t typical of local government,” he said. “We benefit from leadership that is looking to the future and positioning ourselves to be competitive.”