by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Another chapter in the story of Jacksonville’s influence on world affairs was written Tuesday when a delegation from the Republic of Bulgaria visited City Hall on their way to a tour of Mayport Naval Station.
While in Council Chambers, the group of about two dozen Bulgarian government officials and businesspeople got a half-hour seminar on how Jacksonville’s government works from former Council member George Banks and Dist. 1 Council member Clay Yarborough.
Banks, who served on the Council from 1995-99, explained how City government is organized, how it serves the needs of citizens and even how elected officials are paid. Yarborough explained that in a few hours the Council would convene its regular meeting and talked about the relationships between the City and the private sector in terms of public health and mass transportation.
That serving on City Council is considered a part-time job and meets every other week particularly interested one member of the visiting delegation, Zornita Ilieva, who works for the deputy secretary of Bulgaria’s National Assembly.
“In Bulgaria, local government meets every week,” she said.
This was the 10th time a group from the Republic of Bulgaria has visited Jacksonville. The cultural exchange program began five years ago when the country was considering joining NATO as well as the European Union, said Banks. They wanted to learn how civilian communities and local government interacted with American military bases because the U.S. was planning to operate from three such bases in Bulgaria.
Banks, who also served as International Director for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission during former Mayor John Delaney’s administration, said hosting the groups over the years has been a fascinating experience.
“It has been very interesting to watch how democracy has evolved in Bulgaria by meeting and working with its people. The country began the transition from socialism to democracy only 18 years ago, so there is an entire younger generation who never knew what it was like to live in the old system,” he said.
The delegates were particularly interested in how the government handles the issue of public health and indigent care without a socialized health care system system. Ilieva was quite amused when Yarborough explained how a City Council member’s administrative assistant can earn a larger salary than a Council member.
It was the 10th trip to Jacksonville for Miroslav Atitch, who works in the Real Estate Abroad Directorate of the Republic of Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as the group’s interpreter. He said in the past five years, 25 of his country’s 28 Regional Governors and other top-level government officials have visited Jacksonville to exchange culture and ideas and make new international friends.
“These visits are a way to foster communication and business with America,” said Atitch.
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