One by one, Mayor Alvin Brown's department heads have come before the City Council Finance Committee asking that the cuts he made to their budgets be restored.
Last week, Animal Care and Protective Services had $246,000 restored.
The City Information Technology Division received $780,000.
And the Municipal Code Compliance Division left with $393,000 more in the first week.
Finally, on Friday during a review of the Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services budget, Council member Denise Lee had had enough with the how department heads had approached the committee for restorations.
She called Brown out Friday on the mixed message she believes his administration is sending.
The mayor has been adamant against raising taxes and said savings in a pension reform deal he proposed in recent months was a solution to keep services from being cut.
Instead, Council members turned down pension reform 11-7 and voted for preliminary tax increase of 1.5 mills — about $65 million —to potentially offset those service and personnel cuts and balance the cuts he made.
"I think it is misleading, very deceptive and somewhat hypocritical that you (Brown) are against raising taxes but your department heads continue to march in front of Council asking for funds to be restored," said Lee, referring to Brown hours after the committee concluded its half-day review.
Finance Chair Greg Anderson later said he thought Lee "nailed it" with her line of questioning.
Anderson also disagreed with the administration's stance that the best way to avoid tough cuts would have been to pass his pension reform, which would have saved about $45 million in fiscal 2013-14.
"To tie pension reform and the budget together was not correct," Anderson said.
He said pension reform is needed, but so is a balanced budget — not a budget balanced by pension reform.
During Friday's hearing, Lee asked for explanation and clarification on Brown's stance on department heads seeking restorations and the millage, saying if he has changed its view on the subject then Council should be informed.
Brown spokesman David DeCamp said Brown hasn't changed his mind about raising taxes.
"The mayor and the administration do not support a tax increase," DeCamp said Friday.
DeCamp said it is the administration's understanding that department heads attend the budget reviews with the proposed cuts and, if asked, where Council should restore them. He said Monday that department heads aren't "coming up and asking for money," but complying with Council's request.
In preliminary meetings leading to the review, Finance
members asked for department heads to provide an explanation of how cuts would affect service levels and provide alternative options they could potentially implement.
As for the restorations made so far, DeCamp said the mayor respects the Council's work but any comment on specific actions made so far would be premature.
Lee said Brown needs to come out in support of Council's action on the millage issue or stop his department heads from seeking funding increases and restorations, both of which could come from such a millage increase.
"You can't have it both ways," she said, later adding: "I want the public not to be fooled."
As of Friday, the restorations and review if paid for by just the millage would mean just more than a 0.5 mill increase, Council Auditor Kirk Sherman told the committee. The biggest portion of the budget, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, is scheduled for review this week.
The committee meets Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week for full-day review sessions.
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