by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Mayor-elect Alvin Brown’s pledges of “jobs, jobs, jobs” were loud and frequent during his campaign.
One of the 18 transition committees that will play a role in shaping job creation is the Economic Development panel, which met for the first time Monday.
The group is co-chaired by Hugh Greene, Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce chair and Baptist Health president and CEO, and state Rep. Mia Jones, a longtime economic development advocate.
Its charge is to develop recommendations to assist Brown’s administration in jump-starting economic development.
Monday’s meeting was framed as organizational, but several ideas served as discussion points.
In addition to Greene and Jones, those attending included Cleve Warren, Essential Capital president and CEO; Ginny Myrick, Holland & Knight senior policy adviser; Jerry Mallot, chamber Cornerstone president; Carlton Robinson, Human Capital Management partner; and Wilfredo Gonzalez, U.S. Small Business Administration North Florida District director.
Jones made one of the first suggestions. She wanted to see the time frame for project approval shortened to keep Jacksonville competitive. Currently, she said, approval can take up to 10 weeks, which puts the region at a disadvantage.
Myrick called the current process “laborious” due to the need for vetting deals both at the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and City Council, which takes time. She said some competing local governments grant approvals in as few as three days.
Greene said his approach comes from his time with the chamber and he grouped his priorities in the three targeted areas of the port, Downtown and Cecil Commerce Center, as well as reducing “red tape” and marketing the area.
There is a separate transition committee focusing on Downtown revitalization, but the topic is also a point for economic development as a whole, said members.
Small business, specifically its access to capital and its ability to flourish, was another topic.
Robinson advocated for more infrastructure for smaller-stage businesses in their early years, while Myrick said the majority of small businesses that fail do so within five years and suggested that businesses surviving to five years would most benefit from such infrastructure.
JEDC Executive Director Ron Barton talked about JEDC’s mission and objectives. He will serve as a subject matter expert for the committee over the next several weeks.
Barton said the public investment policy is flawed because it was set up in flush economic times and is not ideal in the current economic situation. To streamline, he suggested the development of a “toolkit” that would make some deals easier to approve.
Those exceeding yet-to-be-defined parameters would require Council approval, he suggested.
Barton defended the role of the JEDC, which was criticized by some candidates during the mayoral campaign. He said the commission did a good job given the reduction in staff, from 42 to 17 people, and a budget that was slashed 50 percent in the past eight years while JEDC was given additional responsibilities.
He said the JEDC could be more effective, given the resources and opportunity.
Also advocating Brown’s call for jobs and economic development was the transition’s Budget/Finance committee that met Monday.
Led by co-chairs Charlie Appleby, Advanced Disposal chair and CEO, and Matt Carlucci, a State Farm insurance agent and former Council member, the group discussed its direction. It will make its recommendations to Brown before the mayor presents a preliminary City budget to Council July 14.
Committee members included Council member Kevin Hyde, former Jacksonville Community Council Inc. Executive Director Lois Chepenik, and former Council member Terry Wood.
The projected City budget is about $1 billion with a deficit currently around $60-$62 million, but members said they were confident recommendations could be made to help.
Appleby referred to Mayor John Peyton’s white paper reports and JCCI budget workshop results as resources for members. Peyton’s staff created reports for the transition team about City operations.
Doing his own research, Appleby, a former JEDC member, suggested a possible savings of $29 million if some JCCI rankings were considered. Participants in a JCCI budget study ranked items as “don’t need” and “nice to have” and cutting those that ranked high in those categories could save the money.
The Budget/Finance committee will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday to hear from Peyton’s budget staff as well as receive a rundown from the midyear budget review presented recently to Council.
Meetings for other transition committees continue throughout the week.
Today’s meetings include Military Affairs at 10 a.m., Boards and Commissions at 10 a.m., Neighborhoods and Housing at 1 p.m., Personnel at 2:30 p.m., Education and Children at 2:30 p.m., Workforce Development at 3:30 p.m., Economic Development at 3:30 p.m. and Transportation at 4 p.m.
For more information about the meetings, call 630-7080.
356-2466