by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Give more teeth to zoning rules.
Sunset the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and merge it back with the Jacksonville Port Authority.
Eliminate all City Council At-Large seats.
Take a look at the Office of General Counsel.
Build a “Green Zone” near the Port.
Those were just some of the public comments and recommendations to the Charter Revision Commission during its first official meeting Tuesday. The meeting was solely dedicated for the Commission to receive public input before it begins its task of studying the City Charter for potential changes, which is done every 10 years.
“My intent is that we will work in a transparent way,” said Commission Chair Wyman Duggan. “I felt it was appropriate to begin the process by listening to the public.”
Around a dozen people took the opportunity to voice their suggestions, support and concerns to the 15 commissioners, all appointed by Ronnie Fussell, whose term as Council president ended Tuesday. While the meeting was held in Council Chambers and commissioners sat where Council members would normally, the public comment section wasn’t limited to three minutes as is usually the case. Instead, the public was given as much time within reason, as it was originally unknown how many people would take advantage of the opportunity.
“We’ll stay until everyone has a chance to speak,” said Duggan.
Skip Cramer, executive director of Jacksonville Community Council, Inc., was invited by the Commission to speak first and was offered 30 minutes to share the results of several of JCCI’s past studies. Such results, Duggan said, might offer facts that could be helpful to the process in key areas.
During his presentation, Cramer made several recommendations based on studies, which include: better defining core government functions and establishing a long term vision, based on the latest “Our Money, Our City: Financing Jacksonville’s Future,” study; strengthening the City’s Waterways Commission, from the 2005 “River Dance: Putting the River in River City” study; and staggering term limits to maintain continuity and reviewing whether elected officials who serve in primarily administrative or quasi-judicial functions should be appointed instead of elected, based on the 1988 study regarding local elections process.
After Cramer, it was time for the public to speak. Several suggestions, including reviewing the Office of General Counsel and the push for a citizen’s police review board and the election vs. appointment debate for different offices, were overlapped by more than one speaker.
Council members Clay Yarborough and John Crescimbeni sat in on the forum, as the official Commission suggestions for Charter amendments will be issued to Council at the end of the study.
“I just wanted to sit in and hear some of the public’s suggestions,” said Yarborough. “Hopefully, the Commission will get some good ideas of it (the forum).”
After adjourning, Duggan was enthusiastic and, as Yarborough hoped, said he wrote down everything and did get some solid public input. The turnout was about what he expected and hoped, he said, and such a public input forum is in the works for a later date — potentially at the three-quarters mark — when the Commission comes back with concrete suggestions for the public to comment on.
Tuesday’s public meeting, though, marked the start of the clock for the group.
“This is the just beginning of an eight-month process,” said Duggan. “We’ll get it done.”
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