Staff Writer
The recently formed Jacksonville Civic Council is looking for some of the city’s top issues to tackle through greater public-private partnerships. Thursday, they announced a potential starting point.
The group, currently comprised of 51 local business and civic leaders, announced the results of a recently conducted poll of 400 Jacksonville voters that focused on the city’s political environment, general budget issues, Downtown redevelopment, the Jaguars and education.
“We wanted to ask people of Jacksonville what’s important to them,” said Peter Rummell, JCC chair.
Several JCC members were in attendance for the results release, with Linda DiVill, president of Washington, D.C.-based polling firm American Viewpoint, sharing both good and bad news on the subjects.
Results included: a majority of the voters responded they believed Jacksonville is “going in the right direction” as opposed to “heading down the wrong track,” an overwhelming number agreed that the city should fund important programs; many believe that City government should do more to solve city issues — even among conservative voters; many believe in balancing the City budget instead of reducing it; many believe the idea that public safety and transportation issues take budget precedence; and a wide majority of voters deem the Jaguars as important to the city’s economy and image.
One of the poll’s findings revolved around education, where voters across the board were overly dissatisfied about the quality of Jacksonville’s public schools while also giving low marks for the Duval County School Board’s use and management of tax dollars.
“This is the area that is most disconcerting,” said DiVall, later adding: “This is pretty bad. For a city of this size, this is pretty damning.”
While the results don’t necessarily correlate to what the JCC will focus on in the months moving forward, it does provide areas where the group can look to make the most difference, which Rummell said was a priority.
Aside from the voter responses showing disapproval for education, Rummell said he was pleasantly surprised by the high level of optimism voters displayed when answering questions regarding Jacksonville’s direction.
“I was surprised with the level of enthusiasm people have,” said Rummell. “It’s a good thing.”
The group will meet as a whole six times this year, he added, but additional meetings will scheduled for subcommittees when they are formed to address individual issues.
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