City Council President Bill Bishop said Tuesday he will create a committee of Council members, civic and business leaders to review the financial relationship between the City and its independent agencies.
Bishop and Council member Matt Schellenberg called a meeting to discuss creating a City “sustainability” committee that would review funds that might be available from JEA, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, the Jacksonville Port Authority and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
Bishop wants to know whether each independent authority has money set aside that the City could recoup for running overall government, maintenance and services.
The committee would look for those funds as well as discuss the possibility of selling some City-owned property, even if not at appraised value, to generate tax revenue.
However, Schellenberg advised that the independent agencies needed their funds, not only for debt and operating expenses but also because they would know best about how to spend any extra resources.
After the meeting, Schellenberg used an example of the port.
“If they had extra money, don’t you think they’d be using it toward dredging?” he asked.
Bishop contends there could be money to be found and the overall relationship of the City and independent agencies needs to be reviewed and potentially “reset” because they do not have the same goals.
He said the authorities’ inherent goals are to provide services while making money, which differs from the City’s goals.
Bishop said he hoped to form the committee by the end of the month.
It will consist of about a dozen members from Council and the civic and business communities. He said it could meet weekly or every other week for six to eight months, “not unlike a JCCI study.” The Jacksonville Community Council Inc. nonprofit studies at least one annual topic for eight months, presenting recommendations at the conclusion.
Bishop will chair the effort and will appoint someone outside Council as vice chair. He has not appointed committee members yet. Schellenberg said he would like to be on it.
The committee would create a “white paper” report that Council members could use to create legislation if they find merit in the results.
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