by Anthony DeMatteo
Staff Writer
A group of about 75 of the area’s hotel and motel managers got a visit from Mayor John Peyton Tuesday and heard him address the need finally to take a serious look at the convention center.
Peyton said the budget of the Better Jacksonville Plan, swollen by increased construction costs, contributed to him not focusing on a new or improved convention center coming to town during his first term, he said.
“We discovered an $800 million dollar problem with a $1.2 billion road program,” he said at a meeting of the Jacksonville Hotel & Motel Association. “We had to completely rework that. The convention center has not been a priority.”
With a date set to potentially pay off the Better Jacksonville Plan debt, provided the area economy continues to stay strong and sales tax revenues stay high, now is the time to consider whether to build a new convention center or add to the existing Osborn Center. He expects a report from a task force formed to study the issue in November.
“Hopefully, we will have somewhat of a plan on what we’re going to do,” he said. “That plan might mean do nothing, by the way. That plan might say ‘Stay where we are, move.’ It’s a long-term deal.”
Asked by an audience member about the Jacksonville Port Authority’s search for land that would accommodate larger cruise vessels — something else that would bring tourism dollars to town — Peyton said more study is needed to determine whether the business brings enough to the city’s economy.
“I think the jury’s still out on the cruise business,” said Peyton. “The current location will not accommodate the larger vessels. We’ve had a hard time quantifying if there’s really much spill over from people coming here on cruise ships.”
Peyton was also asked about the city’s ability to provide services in the midst of growth. He did not discount the idea of Jacksonville needing more tax revenue after the half-cent sales tax increase associated with the Better Jacksonville Plan ends.
“This is the challenge,” he said. “It is one-time money and needs do not stop when bond debt is retired. I think there does have to be a discussion. You can’t afford to have that discussion in a first term. Term limits afford the luxury to have painful discussions. I think there will be a revenue discussion. You get what you pay for.”
Addressing other topics, Peyton also said the city faces challenges including closing a prosperity gap between the races and reducing the highest murder rate in Florida.
“Our murder rate is off the chart, and we’re better than that,” said Peyton.
Peyton said after the July 2006 shooting death of 8-year-old Dreshawna Davis, the city targeted 12 hot spots where most of the city’s murders happen.
“The good news is that the last six months (of 2006), compared to the first six months of 2006, we saw a 40 percent decrease in murder in Duval County,” said Peyton. “So you can’t say we didn’t respond. You can’t say the community didn’t respond.”
Davis’ murder preceded an outcry from the community leading to last year’s “Day of Faith” in Jacksonville.
A group called American Atheists sued the city over its participation in the event.
“I think I’m doing pretty well in politics if the atheists sue me, especially in Jacksonville,” said Peyton.
Davis was black, as are many of the city’s victims of violent crime. Peyton said too great of a divide exists between social and economic classes in Jacksonville.
“This community lags in per capita income relative to the national average,” said Peyton. “There is a huge disparity, particularly along the lines of race. Almost everything we measure, be it income, educational attainment, healthcare, disease ... we’ve got to narrow that disparity. We know raising per capita income from the lowest rungs makes the biggest difference.”
Peyton said the city is lobbying in Tallahassee to save Jacksonville from state budget cuts. Jacksonville, he said, doesn’t deserve a place on the chopping block because it has operated on a “bare bones” budget for years while other city governments have doubled in size, some over a four-year period.
“There is a tax crisis in the state of Florida, but it is not here, I promise you,” he said. “We have actually been the model, for most counties in the state, of fiscal responsibility. We have been rolling back taxes for 13 years. We have the lowest millage rate in the state of Florida by almost 13 percent.”
Peyton said Duval County’s consolidated form of government enables Jacksonville to have the lowest taxes and utility rates of any major Florida city.