by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Forty-eight hours after he presented his $972 million 2008-09 budget to the City Council, Mayor John Peyton was hitting full stride in his effort to see the process through to approval and said he thinks the stage has been set.
“We really put a stake in the ground and said look, the status quo in Jacksonville is no longer acceptable,” he said during a question and answer session Wednesday morning. “We’re going to substantially change the dynamics of this community. Being labeled as a violent place is not Jacksonville. we can do better than that and we have to devote the necessary resources to eradicate violence in our community.”
Peyton also said now that the numbers have been submitted, his role is now to sell the budget.
“I’ve got to find 10 believers on the City Council who agree this is the right thing to do,” he said, then admitted he realizes this budget breaks new ground.
“This is a pretty significant shift from what we’ve done historically. Budgets reflect priorities and I think the number-one priority this year is public safety,” he said. “Putting $30 million of new money into enforcement, prevention and intervention is a shift in thinking.
“We need to take the responsibility of educating the Council why we need to do this. I think we all recognize there is a crisis. Now all we have to do is agree on the solution and what we’re going to do as a community. Now I need 10 votes and I’m optimistic we’ll get there.”
He also said he can use some help from the business community.
“They need to talk to their Council members,” he explained. “This is a time when Council members need to hear from their constituents and the business community has a vested interest in this issue. It’s hard to do business in a city that is labeled as the murder capital of Florida. We have a violence problem that is out of control. It’s rampant. I expect the business community to engage this issue because there are a lot of folks who know we are better than this. We should not be defined by crime and violence.”
One of the key features of the budget under consideration is that it funds the government’s services and provides resources for the Jacksonville Journey “war on crime” without asking for an increase in property taxes. When asked if he thinks that will be the case over the five years it will take to fully implement the initiatives produced by the Jacksonville Journey committees and begin to see results, Peyton said, “Is there a need for a revenue fund revisiting? Possibly, but not during the current economic cycle. We’ve got 25 percent disconnect rates at the utility company. One out of every 375 homes in Duval County is in foreclosure right now. I don’t think we should lead the parade on putting any additional burden on the taxpayers today. Maybe we’ll reassess that in the future.”
Peyton said in terms of public safety, putting more police officers on the street may place an additional burden on the jail and prosecutors if more criminals are apprehended and arrested. Both systems are already operating beyond capacity, so a new way of thinking about that part of the process is also needed.
“Relative to the other counties in the state, we have very high bond thresholds for non-violent offenses like driving with a suspended license or shoplifting or writing a bad check,” said Peyton. “These people are not violent people. If we lower the bond, they can get out of jail. That’s a way to reduce occupancy and create more capacity for the violent offenders. That means we won’t have to build more jail space which is extremely expensive.”
The faith-based community will also play a role in the public safety improvement and Peyton said that group’s contribution is unique in that it’s not a line-item in the budget and should have a major positive impact on results.
“I’m very encouraged by what Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin (of Potter’s House Christian Fellowship) is doing,” he said. “The notion that we have the most murders in this town where we have the most churches is crazy. We have to engage the faith-based organizations to take back the neighborhoods they serve. There’s no budget impact and the church is in the business of saving lives. What better cause could there be than to take back the lives of the people around their church?”
Peyton said while it’s early in the process and the Council has just begun to go through the budget line-by-line, he expects his budget will be approved.
“We have a comprehensive, citizen-driven plan and we are funding it without a tax increase. I’m optimistic this Council wants to fight crime and they want to join this battle. Hopefully, three months from now we’ll be on our way to implementation.”
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