by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Mayor John Peyton has declared an end to “JEDC bashing season.” It looks like the City Council is starting to agree.
Peyton issued that statement weeks ago as part of a plea to the Council to restore the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s autonomy over its budget. The Finance Committee Monday took an initial step in that direction by approving the commission’s staff structure as well as $3 million to pay for operational expenses and needed contract work.
Committee chairman Daniel Davis had sought to keep Council ties affixed to the JEDC’s budget purse strings until the commission proved its accountability and efficiency. But weeks of personal campaigning by Executive Director Ron Barton swayed enough of Davis’ fellow committee members to pass the funding bill 5-1.
Davis based his stand on a desire to prevent a repeat of several high-profile development deals gone wrong. But other committee members expressed confidence in the JEDC’s new structure, planned incentive policies and leadership.
“Mr. Barton deserves a year to operate,” said Warren Alvarez. “We can’t blame him for the mistakes of the past.”
Barton, who has spent much of his first 90 days at the head of the commission overhauling the staff structure and wrestling with the budget problems, said he was encouraged by the Finance Committee’s vote. The bill still must pass the Economic, Community and International Development Committee and the full Council.
“I think I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Barton said after the vote. “The Finance Committee did a great job. They did a very thorough job. They wanted to be sure that we have the structure, budget and organization in place to be successful.”
In his face-to-face lobbying with the Council, Barton said members were particularly enthusiastic about a new, more vertical organizational chart. “A portrait” said Barton, compared to the old structure’s “landscape.”
The new structure, which passed with the funding, features only two directors and three division chiefs. The current structure has five directors and eight division chiefs. The new version encourages teamwork and makes managers more accountable, said Barton.
The bill would cement that structure into place and free up about $3.2 million to allow the JEDC to pay operational expenses and pay for needed contract work. Many of those contractual obligations — providing things like maintenance on City property and mandatory contributions to events like the Florida-Georgia game — were written before Barton came into office.
Those contracts tie up about two-thirds of JEDC’s budget and would threaten to handcuff operations if they were to require Council approval to be paid, said Barton.
Barton also impressed Council members by offering to cut staff positions from 32 to 28 and to trim the commission’s budget by 19 percent over the next two years. The reorganization would result in $100,000 in savings for the City, something several Council members noted in their endorsements of Barton.
“This man came to us as a professional,” said Elaine Brown. “He’s shown us he’s a team player by returning $100,000 he didn’t need.”
Even Davis said his continued resistance shouldn’t be perceived as a slight aimed at Barton. He just sees a more limited role for the JEDC than the mayor’s office wants, he said.
“Throughout this discussion, my vision and the administration’s vision for the JEDC have been two different things,” said Davis.