With future budget shortfalls looming for the City, the latest Jacksonville Community Council Inc. report states that the City won’t be able to cut its way to a balanced budget.
Part of JCCI’s “Our Money, Our City: Financing Jacksonville’s Future” study is the City Finances Advocacy Task Force final implementation report.
Its top recommendations include raising revenue through increasing the millage rate and/or examining untapped sources of revenue, funding infrastructure requirements, eliminating unfunded pension liability and sharing risks, developing long-term community vision and defining core functions, establishing benchmarks and weighing outcomes, inviting greater transparency and public involvement and improving accountability and oversight.
“(Jacksonville is) the lowest-taxed city per capita by far among cities of like size,” said J.F. Bryan, chairman of the study.
“Cutting expenses and increasing revenues will allow us to offer the City service that our citizens expect. If we are going to invest in our future we need to do some revenue enhancements,” he said.
The study recognized that Mayor Alvin Brown was elected on a “no tax increase” platform, but pointed out, after the latest round of budget cuts, the City staff is working at “bare-bones” levels.
With the strong likelihood that the City will face another budget shortfall in 2012-13, City departments will be cut back further if additional revenue isn’t created.
John Anderson was chairman of the subcommittee that studied recommendation No. 1, and the committee suggested the City move toward multiyear budgeting to proactively address budget needs.
“The committee provided some progressive recommendations to help shape our local politics,” said Anderson.
The report also encouraged City Council and the mayor to tackle the growing pension issue.
“The real elephant in the room when it comes to the City’s financial health is the employee pension programs,” said Bryan.
The City is facing more than $1.3 billion in combined unfunded liabilities among three employee pension plans and it will continue to occupy a larger portion of the City budget if not addressed.
The report did present some good news regarding the pension issue.
“The unfunded liability is considerably larger due to obsolete and/or inaccurate actuarial assumptions. Once a new actuarial study is completed this fall, we will have a more accurate assessment of just how deep the abyss is,” said Bryan.
The report is posted at www.jcci.org or call 396-3052.
356-2466