Mayor Alvin Brown said economic development will be priority No. 1 in the first half of 2012.
Brown signed legislation Thursday for the first phase of his proposed government reorganization, including his vision for economic development. City Council approved the bill Dec. 13, after amendments, in a 16-1 vote.
The signing came a day after a detailed 25-page report was released by the City Council Auditor’s Office that criticized the lack of oversight by the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, the current economic development structure for the City.
“I welcome the report, I think it’s good to have the report,” Brown said Thursday. “It reaffirms the recommendation we put forth about reforming City government and part of that was JEDC. That report that came out really validates why Council voted 16-1 to approve it.”
The report, which reviewed the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, stated the commission had a “lack of basic internal controls and procedures” that “has resulted in financial losses for the City of Jacksonville” when it came to economic incentives and managing Cecil Commerce Center.
The commission was created by former Mayor John Delaney and serves as the City’s economic development office. It began in 1997.
“We can learn from our mistakes,” Brown said. “In order to avoid those things, you have to set up a system that eliminates them.”
Brown thinks he has set up a system to do so and believes the public will support him based on his track record since taking office July 1.
“Part of it is people knowing that when the mayor says something, he’s going to take the lead, it’s going to happen,” said Brown.
Under Brown’s new structure, economic development for Duval County, with the exception of Downtown, will fall under the Economic Development Commission, a newly created department.
The commission will report directly to the mayor. It does not yet have an appointed officer, but Brown said Thursday he hoped to have those positions filled by the first quarter of 2012.
Within the commission, specifically, county economic development will be handled by an Office of Economic Development while Downtown will be the sole focus of a Jacksonville Downtown Development office.
“You’ve got to have accountability and responsibility,” Brown said. “You’ve got to have controls in place.”
As for the current JEDC staff, Brown said he “has not gotten that far” when it came to a review of those jobs.
“We just have to make sure it does not happen again,” he said of the issues outlined in the auditor’s report.
The report also detailed overpaid incentives, failed reimbursements and non-authorized expenses that should be recouped by the City. Brown said that while he hasn’t read the report, he agreed with those recommendations.
“Whatever is due I think we should go get,” he said. “Promise made should be promise kept and whatever is due to us we should go get.”
A local resolution recently filed to the Legislature by the Duval Delegation on behalf of the administration would allow the City to delete and amend the portion of the Charter regarding the JEDC. The local resolution of support for the measure is currently in the hands of the Council and will be voted on in early January. If Council does not support it, State Rep. Lake Ray said he will withdraw the bill.
Ray, the chairman of the delegation, sponsored the bill.
In terms of fostering economic development, Brown said he will host a small business summit in the first quarter of 2012 and continue to make trips throughout the year to pitch the benefits of Jacksonville for expansion and relocation.
“We’re going to have to compete against other cities to create jobs,” he said. “I do not want Jacksonville to be left behind.”
Education will be his second priority and is closely tied with economic development by producing a skilled workforce, he said.
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