City Council questioned administration officials Tuesday about Mayor Alvin Brown’s proposed economic development reform legislation.
Several Council members questioned the implementation of a proposed “closing fund” that could be used by the mayor as an extra incentive to complete deals.
Council members Warren Jones and Reggie Brown questioned the role of state-designated Enterprise Zones within the new structure.
Also, members questioned their roles in approving some City incentives used to attract business.
Council members received their first look at the two pieces of legislation as a group Tuesday.
The legislation will be sent next week to three Council committees — Rules, Finance and Recreation, Community Development, Public Health and Safety.
Brown announced the legislation March 27, proposing the first major reform of the City’s economic development structure in 15 years.
It repeals the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and moves countywide efforts into a mayor’s Office of Economic Development.
It also creates a nine-member Downtown Investment Authority to focus on Downtown projects.
The legislation also speeds up Council review of economic development deals and proposes a closing fund that would allow the mayor to tap it when he believes the funds would help a company make a decision.
“We have some powerful momentum forming,” Brown said at the Council workshop before Tuesday’s full Council meeting.
Jerry Mallot, JAXUSA Partnership president, and Don Shea, Jacksonville Civic Council executive director, also addressed the Council at the workshop.
They are executives on loan to Brown to devise economic development strategies.
The first of the two proposed ordinances repeals the JEDC and transitions its responsibilities into a new Office of Economic Development. It creates the Downtown Investment Authority.
The second ordinance allows Council to approve some economic development deals after one or two readings, which would reduce the Council review time by several weeks.
Mallot said the reform would cut down the time it takes to complete deals and makes Jacksonville competitive with other cities in attracting and retaining business.
Currently, deals take about 10 weeks to complete in Jacksonville while other cities can finish them in four to five weeks, he said.
Several Council members questioned the implementation of the proposed “closing fund” that could be used by the mayor as extra incentive to finalize deals. The mayor has not said how much money the fund would need.
Mallot said such funds are common at the state level and would provide Jacksonville an advantage.
“Maybe it’s time for us to have a competitive advantage instead of just catching up,” Mallot said.
Such a fund would be authorized for use by the mayor and Council president for individual deals, but Mallot said he didn’t anticipate the fund being used a lot.
Several Council members asked why only the Council president, and not the entire Council, could sign off on using the fund.
Council President Stephen Joost said confidentiality warrants it and Mallot said that a meeting of more than two Council members would require a noticed public meeting.
Council would set the amount of money in the fund each budget cycle, Mallot said. He said the administration is putting together the budget.
Jones and Brown questioned the role of Enterprise Zones, which are designated by the state and offer businesses tax incentives for $10 million or more in public investment and the hiring of 10 percent of new workers from within the designated area.
Mallot said those requirements are impediments in attracting businesses. The legislation eliminates those.
Jones and Brown questioned the methods used to gauge whether residents within the zones were qualified for the created jobs.
Shea took the lead on Downtown-related questions, most concerning the proposed authority.
Pitched as a nine-member governing board appointed by the mayor and confirmed by Council, Council member Johnny Gaffney asked whether the Council should make some of the appointments.
With a goal of continuity and appointees serving at the will of the mayor, Shea said that terms could be staggered and the removal of a board member also would need to be confirmed by Council.
A public hearing on the legislation Tuesday night attracted three speakers.
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