by Karen Brune Mathis
Managing Editor
Mayor Alvin Brown expects to present a proposed 2011-12 City budget at 10 a.m. today that includes about 225 job cuts, creation of four departments and the start of a strategy for government reorganization.
A budget summary released Thursday night outlines a $962.5 million budget, down $27.8 million, or 2.8 percent, from the current budget.
Brown proposes to close the general fund’s projected $57.8 million budget gap with department reductions and other savings.
“As promised, Mayor Brown has balanced the City budget without raising taxes or fees and maintained reserves,” said Brown’s Chief of Staff Chris Hand.
“I can assure you, it wasn’t easy,” he said.
Brown took office July 1 and must deliver a proposed budget to City Council today. The council will review the plans and pass a budget before the fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Hand said Thursday night that the job cuts primarily will come from Central Operations. Some of the jobs are vacant, “but there will be some eliminated,” he said. Brown and spokesman Abel Harding has said that 50 of the cuts will be mayoral appointees.
Harding said nearly half the positions are filled. He said cuts would start as soon as the budget is approved.
“It’s a tough decision,” he said. “We have to be realistic about the economic environment we are currently operating in.”
Hand said the mayor met with all department heads about their budgets and that the proposed budget today shouldn’t be a surprise to any.
Among those budget cuts are $1.8 million for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue and almost $1.3 million for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, Brown wants to create four departments:
• The Downtown Community Empowerment Corp. Hand said the budget calls for three or four employees to launch Brown’s increased focus on Downtown revitalization.
• The Office of Public Private Partnerships. The office will be staffed with two people. “Its job will be to look for ways to find private dollars” to leverage with public dollars.
• The Office of the Education Commissioner. The mayor appointed Donald Horner, Jacksonville University director of the Davis Leadership Center, to lead the office as a loaned executive. He likely will have administrative support, said Harding.
• The Jacksonville Sports and Entertainment Corp. Harding said no decision has been made about staffing. He said the Sports and Entertainment Office currently housed in the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission would become a separate department.
After the budget process, Hand said Brown will work with Council to reorganize government.
Hand said the budget was designed with the next three years in mind, as well. “He wanted to look at a budget with impacts on his second year in office, his third year in office and his fourth year in office,” said Hand.
Specific proposed cuts included:
• A $7.1 million reduction in information technology.
• A $4.9 million reduction in fleet replacement.
• A $1.7 million reduction in Jacksonville Journey funding.
• A $1.2 million reduction in the Jacksonville Children’s Commission.
• A $5.5 million reduction in the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, which includes a $3.5 million transfer of economic and Qualified Target Industry grants to another category. Harding said the plans for JEDC will be developed.
356-3466
General fund
Mayor Alvin Brown is scheduled to present his proposed 2011-12 budget at 10 a.m. today to City Council. A summary was made available Thursday night.
| General fund | Fiscal 2010-11 | Proposed fiscal 2011-12 | Change |
| Advisory boards | $404,068 | $520,939 | $116,871 |
| Central Operations | $20,265,271 | $16,916,140 | ($3,349,131) |
| City Council | $8,883,614 | $8,353,607 | ($530,007) |
| Courts | $852,580 | $884,121 | $31,541 |
| Environmental and compliance | $17,932,245 | $16,674,308 | ($1,257,937) |
| Finance | $6,921,766 | $6,476,034 | ($445,732) |
| Fire and rescue | $163,801,008 | $161,963,038 | ($1,837,970) |
| General counsel | $308,651 | $368,106 | $59,455 |
| Human Rights Commission | $982,048 | $879,856 | ($102,192) |
| Mayor's office | $2,946,609 | $2,885,645 | ($60,964) |
| Medical examiner | $2,839,653 | $2,614,602 | ($225,051) |
| Planning and development | $7,473,512 | $7,233,099 | ($240,413) |
| Public Defender | $936,989 | $1,013,642 | $76,653 |
| Public health | $769,049 | $935,472 | $166,423 * |
| Public library | $39,602,759 | $38,696,857 | ($905,902) |
| Public Works | $79,769,323 | $80,077,130 | $307,807 ** |
| Rec. and Community Services | $49,765,389 | $30,961,089 | ($18,804,300) *** |
| Sheriff | $350,387,721 | $349,118,737 | ($1,268,984) |
| State Attorney | $188,343 | $179,129 | ($9,214) |
| Supervisor of Elections | $9,493,916 | $8,174,073 | ($1,319,843) **** |
| SUBTOTAL | $764,524,514 | $734,925,624 | ($29,598,890) |
| Nondepartmental expenses | $225,841,324 | $227,622,684 | |
| TOTAL | $990,365,838 | $962,548,308 | ($27,817,530) |
| Savings/cuts | Amount |
| Department reductions | $13.8 million |
| Debt service | $8.1 million |
| Deferred actuarial study | $5.8 million |
| Pay go (pay as you go) | $3.7 million |
| Various adjustments | $3.2 million |
| True-up of internal service charges | $3.1 million |
| Juvenile justice | $2.7 million |
| Health care | $2.7 million |
| Reduction in transfer to JPA | $2.2 million |
| Workers' compensation | $2.1 million |
| Sheriff final personnel reductions | $1.1 million |
| Additional salary savings | $788,200 |
| City Council | $385,900 |
| Reduction in life insurance costs | $368,016 |
| Updated transfer | $367,700 |
| Reduction in QTI grants | $317,100 |
| Revenue adjustments | Amount |
| Property tax revenue adjustment for July 1 | $4.4 million |
| Net additional revenues | $2.8 million |