They won’t be sworn in until June 25, but Wednesday the members of Jacksonville’s 2015-19 City Council recorded their attendance at City Hall.
The first of three days of orientation and training began at 8 a.m. in the Lynwood Roberts Room with a welcome from council Vice President Greg Anderson.
Then the 11 new council members moved to the Don Davis Room across the atrium to enroll in the city’s health plan and sign up for parking passes and city identification badges.
Shortly before noon, new members cast their first ballots as the council unanimously elected Anderson council president and Lori Boyer as vice president for 2015-16.
The first orientation and information session covered ethics and open government law.
The presentation was led by city Ethics Officer Carla Miller, who was joined by State Attorney Angela Corey and members of the Office of General Counsel. The session would fulfill the council members’ state-mandated annual requirement for ethics training, Miller said.
“It’s a lot to take in, but it’s a road map to help you transition,” said council President Clay Yarborough, who will complete two terms June 30.
Miller covered the history of ethics in Jacksonville government, beginning in 1966 when 11 public officials were indicted on 142 counts of larceny and corruption.
She said that experience was one of the reasons voters approved consolidation of city and county governments in 1968.
In 1992, the Ethics Commission was established and in 1999, Jacksonville became the first city in Florida to provide ethics training to elected officials, she said.
Corey gave the new members a bit of advice.
“I beg you to pay attention,” she said. “We want to prevent problems. I hope I only see you all at events like this.”
Miller stressed the importance of not only following the law to the letter, but making sure the public’s perception of the conduct of the people they selected to lead the city remains untarnished.
“The No. 1 goal is to keep you out of trouble,” said Miller. “Not to keep you out of court, but to keep you off the front page of the newspaper.”
The orientation continues Thursday with presentations from the Council Auditor’s Office and Mayor’s Office and a mock meeting in the council chamber at City Hall.
General Counsel Jason Gabriel and his staff are on the agenda for Friday, along with document management and retention training for all executive council assistants.
The incoming council’s investiture and installation of officers is scheduled at 5 p.m. June 25 in Jacoby Hall at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. The public is invited to attend.
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