Staff Writer
The eight-month discussion of what is best for the citizens of Jacksonville has come to a close and suggestions on education, ethics, government finances, elections, strategic planning and the future of Charter Revision Commissions will be presented to the City Council and Duval Delegation for further consideration.
The 15-member Charter Revision Commission was tasked by former City Council President Ronnie Fussell to review “the existing consolidated government, and determining whether, given the changes to the world around it, the present form still provides the best process for the citizens of Jacksonville.” It was also asked, in a more informal sense, to have “discussions” in order to improve the future of Jacksonville.
“Several months ago there was an editorial in the paper saying, ‘It would take superheroes to get through the remaining issues we had on our list,’” said Commission Chair Wyman Duggan. “And we got through all of them. We took action on everything. Some things we voted to not take further action on and others we made strong recommendations on.”
The Commission’s list of recommendations includes:
• Education reform (options in order of priority)
1. Change the School Board to appointed positions by the mayor subject to Council approval and members should serve without salary.
2. School Board that consists of a majority appointed by the mayor and elected positions from at-large residency areas similar to those of the Council. Both will be subject to Council approval and both would be without salary.
3. School Board of members elected from at-large residency areas, as opposed to single-member districts.
4. Establish charter schools or an appropriate charter school district under the sponsorship and governance of the City.
5. Pursue legislative action to give principals more autonomy in the selection of staff, improvement of instruction and increased accountability and enhance and reward student performance at the school level.
• Ethics reform
Language be reinstated to the Charter to provide for an ethics code, ethics commission and clarifying the applicability of the language to elected officials, employees and independent agencies and districts. (The Ethics Code is currently enacted by City Ordinance.)
• Mayoral budgetary authority
Amend the Charter to require a two-thirds vote by Council to override the mayor’s veto. Currently, a majority vote is required. This recommendation was developed In an effort to give the mayor more control over the budget and reduce the affect of elected officials lobbying City Council after the mayor vetoes a budget item.
• City employee benefits
Require a financial impact statement be published when any new or revised public employee benefit is approved.
• Election reform
Elections currently held in the spring following the gubernatorial cycle be moved to the fall gubernatorial cycle.
• Strategic plan
Following the example of the School Board, require each new mayor to develop a strategic plan to provide citizens and stakeholders with clear expectations and benchmarks for their term in office.
• Charter Revision Commission
Extend the time the Commission has to discuss issues from eight months to a year.
“It’s nice to see the debate that occurs over these issues,” said Council President Richard Clark. “I am really looking forward to the Council digging in on your
recommendations and seeing something positive come out of this.”
The report will be presented to Clark today and, formally, to the entire Council at its March 9 meeting. The report is non-binding, so the Council does not have to act on the recommendations of the Commission. If the Council does choose to pursue any of the recommendations, legislation will have to be reviewed by its Rules Committee and, if there is a request or need for funding, the Finance Committee.
The entire report will be available at www.coj.net.
356-2466