Mayor Alvin Brown vetoed City Council-approved legislation Thursday that would appropriate $750,000 to purchase furniture for hearing rooms in the new Unified Duval County Courthouse.
The veto has been expected since Tuesday, when Council approved the legislation 18-1 as an emergency measure.
The 19-member Council can override the veto with a vote of two-thirds of the members present for the vote.
Unless Council President Stephen Joost calls a special meeting earlier, the issue will be considered at the next Council meeting May 22.
The courthouse functions are scheduled to start moving May 18 from the East Bay Street building and open May 29 at the new building at 501 W. Adams St.
A dispute between the judiciary and executive branches over the furniture has been ongoing for weeks.
The judiciary has requested new furniture to be bought for the seventh-floor hearing rooms that will be used primarily by the public.
Brown and administration officials have countered that sufficient and usable furniture in the current courthouse can be moved.
In a news conference Thursday to veto the legislation, Brown read a letter he sent to Joost explaining his reasoning for rejecting Council’s action.
The letter reads:
“I greatly respect the City Council and value the opinion of you and your colleagues. I also respect our court systems and the administration of justice. However, I am vetoing this bill because I do not believe we should spend $750,000 on additional new furniture at the new Duval County Courthouse.
“Taxpayers have already invested more than $5 million in courthouse furniture. Additionally, the City owns sufficient furniture at the current courthouse to fulfill its obligation to furnish the seventh floor hearing rooms at the new courthouse.”
Brown said during the news conference that if Council overrides his veto, he would follow the law.
“The law says I would have to provide funding for the furniture. I will always abide by the law and operate in good faith with the law,” he said.
Chief Circuit Judge Donald Moran told Council on Tuesday that without the furniture, the rooms would not be functional and it was questionable that he could certify the new courthouse to open without it.
Moran told Council that with the assurance the furniture would be purchased, the judiciary could operate “for some time” until the furnishings arrived.
Moran said Thursday he was disappointed with the veto but understood that Brown had the right to reject the legislation.
He said he anticipated attending the next full Council meeting and praised its efforts in dealing with the issue, but wouldn’t say if he was optimistic about the bill’s chance of passing a second time.
“The Council people are independent and I have to respect the process,” he said. “I certainly hope the votes will be there.”
Moran’s stance is also supported by The Jacksonville Bar Association President Michael Freed, who sent a letter to the editor at The Florida Times-Union.
Many of the issues Freed addresses in the letter, such as the importance of the hearing rooms to the public, are similar to arguments Moran and the judiciary.
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