Staff Writer
Following criticism for a lack of viable public involvement in last year’s budget process, Mayor John Peyton and City Council President Richard Clark unveiled the City’s plans Thursday on just how the community will be a part of the dialogue this year.
In addition to a new comprehensive budget Web site, www.myjaxbudget.com, a series of community budget workshops facilitated by Jacksonville Community Council Inc. will allow attendees to speak with individual City department representatives on their provided services and allow time for feedback that will then be compiled, reported on the Web site and incorporated in the process.
The Web site itself will allow people to learn of the budget process, including how revenue is generated, expenses, the internal and external services provided by each department and their respective budgets.
Both Peyton and Clark spent time within the community last year during town hall sessions, but as Peyton said during the announcement, much of the time was spent educating the public how the process worked instead of how to solve the issues. The Web site and sessions, he said, will provide background on the process so the public can provide critical feedback that will be filtered into the process.
“There is a real need for a greater understanding of how we spend our taxpayer dollars,” said Peyton.
The Web site, he added, is budget specific, user friendly and an easy to navigate tool while the workshops will provide a setting where the public can help create a baseline of what departments and their functions they deem as priorities. The workshops will hold 88 people each and are scheduled for Thursdays and Saturdays — as to provide different times while not interfering with Council functions — over the course of the next few months, with the first on Thursday. Officials are encouraging interested parties to reserve space for each meeting and come with questions for one specific department per session.
Peyton said he anticipates anywhere between a $40 million and $60 million shortfall, mostly due to employee-related costs, in the upcoming budget, as municipal budgets are going to be the most stressed in the challenging economic times.
Clark said he and Council members will continue to hold town hall meetings and talk with constituents on the budget, but the collaborative effort between Council and Peyton will help the engagement process.
The prior lack of public engagement in the process was highlighted in the recent annual JCCI report, “Our Money, Our City: Financing Jacksonville’s Future,” but the new attempts are a step in the right direction, said JCCI Executive Director Skip Cramer.
“I’m absolutely very excited about this,” said Cramer, who will be one of the workshop facilitators. “Lack of public early involvement in the process was one of the complaints and these are addressing them. It’s part of the puzzle.”
For more information on the new efforts, including the workshop format, go to www.myjaxbudget.com.
The schedule
Over the course of the next three months, the City will hold six community meetings to talk about the early stages of the proposed 2010-11 budget. These meetings are open to the public. The following is the schedule of those meetings:
Feb. 11, 6-8 p.m.
Dist. 2 budget workshop
Blue Cypress Community Center
4012 University Blvd. N.
Feb. 27, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Dist. 4 budget workshop
Cecil Community Center
13531 Lake Newman Dr.
March 6, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Dist. 1 budget workshop
Jacksonville Children’s Commission
1095 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
March 25, 6-8 p.m.
Dist. 5 budget workshop
Clanzel T. Brown Community Center
4545 Moncrief Rd.
April 17, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Dist. 3 budget workshop
Balis Community Center
1513 LaSalle St.
April 29, 6-8 p.m.
Dist. 6 budget workshop
Dinsmore Community Center
7126 Civic Club Dr.
356-2466