City Council will have its own set of legal eyes.
By a 15-1 vote Wednesday, the group passed a bill to create the Office of Legislative Counsel, which can be staffed full- or part-time by city or private attorneys who can offer independent advice.
Council member Stephen Joost was the lone dissenter in the vote that had no discussion.
The council, like all of city government, is represented by the Office of General Counsel, which reports to the mayor.
The city’s charter allows for the office to be created. The bill’s sponsors — council members Bill Gulliford, Bill Bishop and Clay Yarborough — all have said the office would bring independence and impartiality on issues.
The traditional legal services the Office of General Counsel provides will continue. The bill also doesn’t limit the general counsel’s authority to issue binding legal opinions, as the charter allows.
The last time the office was created was for one year during the mid-1980s.
The bill now heads to Mayor Alvin Brown for approval.
Other items from Wednesday’s meeting:
• The pension deal on the table for council wasn’t discussed, but three bills introduced could largely impact the agreement. The first would terminate the 30-year agreement that has bound the city and public safety unions in benefit levels, which several council members claim is illegal. The second transfers $1 million to provide legal counsel on pension litigation. The third said if Brown pursued appeals in the case regarding breaking the Sunshine Act during pension talks in 2013, the money would come from his office’s budget. The mayor has said he wouldn’t pursue further appeals and that was pulled Wednesday.
• City Ethics, Compliance & Oversight Director Carla Miller was confirmed for a three-year reappointment. She was appointed ethics officer in 2011 and confirmed to her current role in 2012. She serves in a part-time capacity with an annual salary capped at $75,000. In recent months, she has been instrumental in creating an Office of Inspector General.
• The council by a 15-1 emergency vote supported the Jacksonville Transportation Authority to immediately issue bonds to construct and maintain roadway projects that were approved by the extension of the gas-tax bill this year. It also indicated to pledge JTA’s portion of the proceeds toward repaying those bonds. The authority has said it would bond up to $100 million for projects.
•?Two local bills were approved and will head to the Duval County Legislative Delegation to take up in Tallahassee. The first involves clarification of the Civil Service Board’s authority as a quasi-judicial board. The other is for an exemption for kite-surfing or kite-boarding in Huguenot Park.
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