An executive summary from Mayor Alvin Brown’s Public Health and Safety Transition Committee calls the health and well-being of Jacksonville citizens “shockingly poor” compared to other cities and said that health disparities continue to worsen.
“We can and must do better,” it said.
The committee’s recommendations included two primary suggestions for public health, while focusing strongly on public safety.
Within public safety, the committee’s report explored criminal justice and safety, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Jacksonville Journey program and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
Here are some of the committee’s observations and recommendations.
Public health
The committee wrote that the physical and mental health of citizens is the most critical determining factor of the well-being of the city.
“Health care is the single largest industry and economic sector in our region,” it said, adding that it was important for the mayor to engage health, health care, medical education and biomedical research as early priority issues.
Public safety Criminal justice
The City’s criminal justice system is making progress to fight crime, said the report, “but is failing much of our community’s citizens — both in areas of high crime and in the mistreatment of offenders, particularly in the areas of minorities, juveniles and the disadvantaged.”
It cited a report that found 1 in 31 Americans were either behind bars or under supervision.
The report said that in Northeast Florida, an average of 400 federal prisoners, 1,800 state prisoners and more than 51,000 city offenders are released annually.
“The majority of prisoners released in Northeast Florida are concentrated in Jacksonville,” it said, particularly in low-income minority neighborhoods where poverty and unemployment “work against the successful re-entry of ex-offenders.”
The report said the “marginalization of communities of color is closely tied to income and wealth, which in turn contributes to the disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on these communities.”
Its recommendations include creation of a Criminal Justice and Safety Task Force from all relevant public, private, faith and academic sectors.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
The committee said Jacksonville Undersheriff Dwain Senterfitt briefed members on June 27 about efforts by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to operate efficiently and effectively.
According to that report, “JSO will save the City of Jacksonville over $10 million through position cuts, continuous improvement efforts, delaying purchases and other cost-saving measures.”
It said the sheriff’s office budget was reduced from $355 million in fiscal 2009-10 to $350 million in fiscal 2010-11.
“However, there remain challenges,” said the report.
The committee said the sheriff’s office believes that City claims that it has “little control” over the JSO budget are not accurate.
“JSO argues that the City, not JSO, controls all the bargaining activities,” it said.
Among other comments, the report said JSO finds the City purchasing and procurement process is a large bureaucracy that is reportedly “inflexible, redundant and creates delays.”
JSO believes lower-cost products and services can be found outside of approved vendors.
JSO also believes there are better systems to manage its fleet of vehicles. “It faces inaccurate billing and management data and markups for internal goods and services,” said the report.
In addition, the sheriff’s office is “deeply concerned” over any attempt to fold its information technology system into the City’s system.
“It believes the City lacks the necessary police-specific product knowledge and that it does not have JSO’s expertise in software development, consulting and the legal aspects of police technology.”
The report notes that the sheriff is an elected constitutional officer with operational control and command of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, while the City and City Council oversee its funding and several administrative functions.
“This creates a natural tension” that can be improved through better communication among officials “at all levels,” it said
Among committee recommendations:
• Creation of the Criminal Justice Task Force.
• Maintain a “continuous dialogue” between the mayor’s office and the sheriff’s office and others.
• Direct purchase authority should be available “where safety and savings are impacted.”
• Review fiscal reasons for having the City manage large portions of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office information technology in light of the sheriff’s concerns for maintaining control of operations and data security.
The Jacksonville Journey
Former Mayor John Peyton launched The Jacksonville Journey anti-crime initiative in December 2007, asking 140 community leaders to develop solutions to reduce the crime rate.
“This comprehensive, communitywide initiative has won high praise for decreasing the amount of crime in Jacksonville,” said the committee’s report.
The committee said the main challenge for the Journey is how to expand its reach while facing budget constraints.
Among recommendations:
• The mayor should “engage personally to maintain and expand” the program and continue to provide it “the tools it needs to carry out its mission.”
• Seek more funds outside the general fund and expand the Juvenile Assessment Center.
• Engage more community leaders.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department
The committee said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Chief Charles Moreland met with the group June 17.
He outlined the department’s strategic initiatives, which include improved response time; funding initiatives; fire prevention and public education; increased workplace diversity; training and education; and leadership development.
The committee also heard about obstacles, including that response times “consistently exceeded the 4-minute (National Fire Protection Association) standard for first arriving units.”
It also heard about a growing disparity between supply and demand. “From 2007-10, hospital transports increased 21 percent, due in part to economic conditions and people waiting longer to call for service.”
According to the report, another obstacle is that each call from a citizen is treated as an emergency, “with a full and appropriate response.”
“In actual practice, rescue units are frequently called to nonemergency medical and even nonmedical situations,” it said.
It said that studies and projects continue to develop procedures to minimize unnecessary responses and, if necessary, refer callers to other resources, such as clinics and private physicians.
In another discussion of obstacles, the report said women were allowed in fire and rescue services starting in the late 1970s or early 1980s and that the number of women there continues to be low.
It said 6 percent of fire and rescue members are women, compared to 5 percent in fire and rescue services around the state. Jacksonville’s goal is 10 percent.
Another discussion covered discrimination.
“Prior to 1969, due to admitted discriminatory policies by the City, JFRD was an all-white male department,” said the report.
“The effects of those policies which allowed for that continues to haunt the department. Women and minorities are often suspicious of white male members and the perception of a hostile work environment has frequently been expressed,” it said.
It said such concerns are not conducive to the teamwork and trust “essential in fire and rescue work.”
While the environment has improved, said the report, “Members of the committee expressed concerns regarding continuing problems.”
Another concern is that “the significant number of impending retirements could reduce the representative numbers of members who were women, and especially minorities.”
The committee said that efforts to recruit women and minorities continue and should be re-analyzed. It said new strategies and tactics should be developed.
Also, the committee was informed of more gaps to be addressed, including inadequate funding for expansion and insufficient training for the fire/rescue communications center.
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Public Health and Safety Transition Committee
Co-Chairs: Nat Glover and Nancy Soderberg
Members: Dr. Charles McIntosh, Larry Osborne, Ray Alfred, Dr. William Rupp, Tommy Chandler, William R. Russell Jr., Tad Delegal, Dr. Michael Rutledge, Kevin Gay, Dr. Shelly Thompson, Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, German Vivas
In transition
Mayor Alvin Brown and his staff are reviewing reports submitted Aug. 8 by 18 transition policy committees. The committees consisted of 217 people and another 125 subject area experts and staff. More than 110 meetings were held over a month. The Daily Record will summarize one report daily and include the names of the committee co-chairs and members. Today’s summary covers the Public Health and Safety Transition Committee.