Mayor Alvin Brown said Wednesday he would look to the private sector for additional funding for the Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Parade as two City Council committees voted 3-3 on a request for additional support.
Brown said he would form a partnership to raise funds from the private sector to make sure the event was a success.
“We’re going to lead that effort so we can support the parade,” he said. “I think government can’t do everything by itself.”
Council member Reggie Brown sponsored legislation asking for $29,950 from the Special Council Operating Contingency Fund to reimburse some parade and event expenses. The parade is still on schedule but organizers said they needed more support for some other planned events.
The Council Rules Committee rejected the measure 1-6 on Tuesday. Members said there were unanswered questions regarding expenditures and a lack of communication with the event organizers.
On Wednesday, the Finance Committee and the Recreation, Community Development, Public Health & Safety Committee both deadlocked after Reggie Brown and Gary Thomas, principal of the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation, attended to answer questions. The foundation organizes the parade.
During the afternoon Recreation Committee meeting, Reggie Brown told Council members he had heard that up to $10,000 had already been raised for the event.
Chris Hand, the mayor’s chief of staff, said later that the mayor had said Wednesday that he would help raise funds, but that there was no specific dollar amount.
The Recreation Committee amended the legislation to include language that any private dollars raised would be spent before money would be released from the Council contingency fund.
Under another amendment, the foundation would be reimbursed rather than receive
money in advance and the expenses would be reviewed by the City’s Special Events Department. Any issue with the expenses would then be reviewed by the Council Auditor’s Office.
Reggie Brown maintained during both Wednesday committee meetings that the events surrounding the national holiday should be shared by all communities – not just the African-American community – in a show of unity.
Citing Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office numbers, he said 20,000 people attended recent MLK parades and that those numbers were “not good.”
“Those numbers are appalling to me,” he said.
He said that involving the City would be a step toward that unity and elevating community support of the parade.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.
Thomas told members of the Recreation Committee that some of the reimbursable dollars would likely not be needed because of the late stage of planning. Events are scheduled to kick off Tuesday, but Reggie Brown remained optimistic and said he wanted to ensure the efforts maintained their initial intensity.
Despite the tie votes, which trigger automatic deferral, the Council could still take the measure up during its full meeting Tuesday if it is discharged from the committee level. Rules Chairman Richard Clark said during the morning Finance Committee meeting that he would ask Council President Stephen Joost to make such a move.
After the Recreation Committee meeting, Reggie Brown said he was pleased with the increased communication between the foundation, the Council and the City and would work toward making the parade part of the overall City budget. It has not been included to date.
“I think we saw progress made today,” he said. “I think it’s a sign of change. I believe we can do it.”
356-2466