When it comes to keeping your cool under pressure and planning for the future of Jacksonville, Mayor John Peyton has it all figured out.
“Start with the end in mind,” he said, quoting management systems guru Steven Covey to over 250 people at the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council last month at the University Center at University of North Florida. “I had to ask myself before I took office, ‘What do I want to be able to point to that is different and better in Jacksonville because I served as the mayor?’”
With Hurricane Francis in the past and Hurricane Ivan right on its tail, Peyton had a lot on his mind.
But, not too much to attend the meeting and give an update on several things he is working on to improve Jacksonville.
“I want to talk to you about what I think makes a great city and things we are doing to become a great city,” said Peyton. “To me the most important thing we can do in achieving greatness is to have a rising personal income. We want to see a per capita increase in Jacksonville. Economical activity and stimulation is what makes greatness.”
He questioned what the city should do to make this happen. Peyton said the city needs to create an environment that is business friendly.
“One way we can do this is to roll back taxes and have a low tax base which makes a business friendly environment,” he said.
Another thing he is doing is revisiting the permitting process: “Our motto is better, faster and cheaper if you need government help. If the government needs to be a part of your process to expand you business, relocate your business or start a business, we want government to be a facilitator, not a barrier. This doesn’t mean that we permit everything, but we want to be consistent with our answers and time sensitive with our answers.”
Peyton gave kudos to City Councilman Daniel Davis. who has been heading the permitting group.
“We are making great progress,” he said.
He said the committees are working on making the permitting process smoother with a streamlined process.
Peyton is very passionate about literacy and said that education is our biggest opportunity to make a difference in Jacksonville. He discussed his literacy program for 4- year olds and how it would impact the city.
“We are trying to reach kids earlier,” he said. “It is becoming a personal passion of mine. There is a tremendous opportunity to teach students earlier. There are 14,000 4-year olds in Duval County. Want to reach them in their world, so that they can become more literate.”
His program is designed to bring literacy to the daycare centers where 4-year olds attend and prepare for kindergarten.
“We have a literacy problem in Jacksonville that is quite literally unacceptable,” he said. “Though the number is debated, the JCCI (a Jacksonville research organization) reported years ago that the functional illiterate rate, people who have trouble filling out a job application without assistance, is about 47 percent in Jacksonville. I had trouble accepting that number but, after campaigning across this county for two years, I believe that number.”
Peyton said up until third grade, students learn to read. After that, they read to learn.
“We need to start in the beginning and where we can get the biggest return on our buck,” he said.
Peyton said another thing that makes a city great is the opportunity to own a home.
“What a great sales tool that is,” he said. “Businesses can work wherever they want to. Businesses are going to want to work where people want to live. We should leverage that. We have a great quality of life in Northeast Florida. We now have the largest park system in America in Duval County.”
He said that the city’s downtown is really seeing a turn.
“We have about 2,000 units online downtown or soon to be online,” he said. “We think 10,000 is that critical mass that really creates the nightlife that is more equivalent to the day life and allows the restaurants, retail shops and all the activities that we want to see downtown. We are really on our way to having a vibrant place where people want to live, work, play, recreate and shop.”
Peyton described how his job is not as easy as some may think.
“To represent this city at this time is a tremendous privilege and honor,” said Peyton. “I take it very seriously. There are a lot of issues that are not fun. There are a lot of things that happen in this job that are absolutely not fun. There is usually someone who wants a piece of me each day when decisions don’t go their way. But, we try to make decisions that are right, not always politically expedient. That is not easy.”