Staff Writer
City Council convened for more than 10 hours Tuesday night, but the debate will continue this morning after the 18 members failed to come to a vote on the budget for the fiscal year starting Friday.
Council, as required by law, must set a millage rate for the general services district, Beaches and Baldwin before it can approve the budget.
The meeting featured more than four hours of public comment from people on both sides of the budget debate, those advocating the proposed budget and those opposed to the proposed 9 percent property tax increase.
The millage increase, part of Mayor John Peyton’s proposed budget, would raise the same amount of revenue as the current year and fill a $45 million budget gap in fiscal 2010-11.
Including an amendment to lower the amount of money going into a contingency fund, the gap was lowered to around $42 million when debate began.
But neither an increase nor a decrease in the millage rate was settled Tuesday.
Council had just 18 members because former finance committee chair Daniel Davis was selected to fill the seat of former State Rep. Jennifer Carroll in the Florida House. That left District 12 vacant and an even number of members who continually voted to a stalemate.
Around 10 p.m. following public comment, members began offering floor amendments on the budget to further reduce savings that could help reduce the proposed 10.12 millage rate, which is up from 9.27 mills this year.
The first such floor amendment, proposed by member Bill Bishop, called for a pro rata reduction of every line item in the budget to make up the $45 million and negate any property tax increase. It would mean that all areas take a hit, said Bishop, with the exception of obligated costs in debt service and pension obligations.
Critics argued the finance committee had already made substantial cuts, with additional “blind” cuts being reckless.
The measure failed by a 7-11 vote, was revisited later as a potential millage rate factor, and failed again.
Council member Clay Yarborough introduced 14 floor amendments, with just two passing. Jaguars tickets totaling $43,000 were eliminated and a total of $500,000 among a joint contingency fund for the council and mayor was slashed.
Yarborough’s unsuccessful amendments included eliminating the Starry Nights concert series ($85,000), forgoing subsidized rent to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra ($20,000), a decrease in funding to the Jacksonville Journey ($2.4 million), eliminating funding for the Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum ($1.2 million) and 10 percent funding reductions for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville and the Public Service Grant Council.
One floor amendment, offered late by member Stephen Joost, passed that defunded the Equestrian Center and has a net savings of just more than $621,000.
All the additional savings went toward the contingency funds, which members voted several times to apply toward lowering the millage rate.
The initial 10.12 rate, a 10.04 rate that included the contingency savings and a 10.02 rate that included the contingency funds and additional savings from the Equestrian Center were voted on numerous times, with each vote failing to garner enough votes.
Council members became visibly more agitated as the hours wore on without progress, with President Jack Webb and General Counsel Cindy Laquidara offering reminders that setting the rate is mandated.
With no resolution after 3 a.m., Webb called for a break until 11 a.m. today with the hope that rest and thought would “help some lightbulbs go off.”
As for the gridlock, Webb said he wasn’t frustrated.
“No, not at all,” he said. “It demonstrates the process.”
In other news from Tuesday’s marathon meeting:
• Council member Denise Lee, on several occasions, advocated for $990,000 of the contingency fund to go toward rehiring the 15 firefighters who recently were let go after the fire union rejected the City’s proposed salary cuts.
Near the beginning of the meeting, Lee offered a floor amendment that failed and several times during the night tried to garner support for the issue without success.
• A floor amendment by member Kevin Hyde first introduced during budget sessions regarding the makeup of the board of library trustees passed. The amendment calls for the board to consist of 14 members, with 12 being appointed, including two each from the City Council’s five at-large groups. In addition, the board would include at least one City Council member and a member of the Duval County Public School Board.
• The meeting officially convened at 5:12 p.m. and concluded at 3:09 a.m., with four brief breaks.
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