by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The City may only be able to help those deep into the foreclosure process so much, but for those who are teetering on the edge of the process, the City is doing what it can to prevent yet another Jacksonville resident from losing their home.
Monday, the City Council Finance Committee approved legislation sponsored by Council member Kevin Hyde that will allow the City to help those in need through a variety of measures. The City’s Department of Housing and Neighborhoods will serve as the primary agency in dealing with local mortgage foreclosures. In addition to placing a foreclosure assistance link on the main page of the City’s Web site, the bill directs the Housing department to obtain on a weekly basis the lis pendens list from the Clerk of the Court. That list includes those in the initial stages of losing their home and they will be referred to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid for help. That assistance will include legal counsel and financial and debt counseling. The City will also send literature to those facing foreclosure, directing them to help.
The Finance Committee approved the legislation 4-1 with only member Clay Yarborough voting against the bill. Yarborough said he understands there is a foreclosure problem in Jacksonville, but he also believes the Council, and the City, have done enough, especially after providing funding for JALA last year.
“I am trying to determine how much time and money we are going to spend tracking people,” said Yarborough. “Foreclosure is not good or desirable, but I am not sure we should be stepping in to help.”
Wight Greger, head of the City’s Housing department, said she doesn’t expect the bill to incur any extra expenses on her department’s budget.
“There are no budget asks. We are looking outside of the box for funding mechanisms,” she said, adding the plan is to raise private dollars to fund any programs associated with the legislation. “We do not intend to ask for general revenue at this time.”
Finance member Warren Jones disagrees with Yarborough’s assessment.
“This is a good bill,” he said. “We need to keep as many homeowners in their homes as we can. Some of the foreclosures are their fault. Some are victims of unfair lending practices.”
The bill will also create a Jacksonville Foreclosure Task Force that would consist of at least nine members appointed by the mayor. That task force would make recommendations to the administration, Council and the Housing department.
The bill was deferred Monday morning by the Council Rules Committee. However, Rules Chair Jack Webb said he would move to have it expelled from Rules in order for the full Council to approve the measure next Tuesday night.
In other news from the Finance meeting:
• The committee approved another $85,000 to pay Miami-based law firm Greenberg Traurig for work done on behalf of the City in its lawsuit against Seminole County over water withdrawal from the St. Johns River.
“This is the final bill,” said Jason Teal of the Office of General Counsel.
Finance member Daniel Davis approved the money, but said it was his understanding that at a recent Finance meeting the committee made it very clear it was willing to pay the fees of expert witnesses, but nothing more in attorney’s fees. Teal said the OGC was under contract with Greenberg Traurig and negotiated the fees down.
Finance Chair Michael Corrigan said he planned to research what the Miami firm did for the City, considering the final bill is just under $600,000, before the next full Council meeting.
“I did not want to debate from the chair today,” said Corrigan.
• The committee also approved funding for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to renovate substations and stop stations. The original bill called for the approval of $50,000. However, the legislation was amended to approve a cap of $10,000 for substations and $1,000 for stop stations.
According to Maxine Person, JSO only owns two substations in Jacksonville. The rest, she said, are leased and JSO is obligated to renovate the space.
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