• Interesting job posted in the City’s Human Resources office: latent print examiner. Pays $26,268-$47,808 a year depending on experience.
• The City’s Special Events Office has moved. A longtime occupant on City Hall’s third floor, the special events staff can now be found on the second floor in Suite 280. There’s a lot more space there.
• The City Council is reviewing legislation that would allow the Jacksonville Urban League to continue to operate out of its LaVilla headquarters on Union Street. The non-profit’s annual payment to the City? One dollar per year.
• Some special guests made a brief appearance at the City Council’s Finance Committee meeting Monday morning. Currently on a tour through Florida, representatives from the South African government stopped through City Hall. They’re here as part of the Chamber’s Sister Cities program.
• On that subject, the City Council’s Finance Committee may be expanding. Council President Kevin Hyde suggested this week that with a tough budget year ahead, it might be wise to add two committee members to the committee’s seven-person roster. After his term expires next June 30, it would likely return to its normal size, he said. “Nothing is final yet,” Hyde said. “But we’re in an usual situation so it might be a good idea to have more eyes looking at the City’s budget right now.”
• Speaking of the City’s budget, the Council got a bit agitated Monday after it was revealed the Mayor’s proposed budget reflects a departmental alignment the Council has yet to approve. The legislation, which would streamline several City offices while also creating a freestanding Human Resources Department, has languished in the Council since March. Despite claims from the mayor’s office that it was just an oversight, several Council members felt as if they were being tricked into passing legislation they don’t support right now. By the end of the day, Mayor John Peyton’s policy team said they plan to resubmit the budget so that it is consistent with the way the administration is structured now.
• Condolences to City Council member Pat Lockett-Felder. Her mother passed away this past Saturday.
• Now that Mayor John Peyton’s draft budget is making its way through the City Council, the mayor’s office is turning its attention to the priority items for the next fiscal year. Those priorities include a reorganization for the Parks and Recreation Department, filling two commissioners’ posts on the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and moving forward with plans to build a new County Courthouse. Expect an announcement soon from the mayor’s office on the Courthouse.
• Queen’s Harbour Golf & Country Club is looking for a new head pro. Ed Brill left the club last Friday. Jack Aschenbach of Deercreek is splitting time between the two clubs until Brill’s replacement can be found.
• The Downtown Development Authority will meet Wednesday, July 27 at 9 a.m. in City Council committee room B.
• The Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida will host its first membership appreciation at the Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art Sept. 22. Attendees will be able to meet Rena Coughlin, the new president and CEO of the Center.
• Council member Mia Jones is expected to appear at a special health care awareness event this weekend. The “Health Symposium for People of All Nations,” will be held on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Osborn Center. Lunch will be provided for the first 2,000 participants.
• Jacksonville Public Library is sponsoring a $500 college scholarship contest with The Main Street America Group. Teens can submit a 500-word essay on “What I would have missed if I could not read” plus entry form by 5 p.m. July 30. One caveat: applicants must also volunteer 10 hours at a library location by July 23.
• The Jacksonville Quarterback Club has announced its 2005 speakers schedule. ESPN college football analyst Mike Gottfried will kick off the year on Aug. 17. Other notables include Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio on Oct. 10, Miami head coach Larry Coker on Nov. 7 and Georgia head coach Mark Richt on Dec. 5. Florida head coach Urban Meyer is tentatively set for Oct. 17. The club meets in the Terrace Suite at Alltel Stadium. Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. with the speaker taking the podium at 7.
• Even with 10,000 seats covered in Alltel Stadium, Jaguars team officials are still saying a number of home games could be blacked out from local television broadcast. The blackouts could affect six to eight home games this year, according to team CFO Bill Prescott.