Mayor Alvin Brown’s administration wants to resolve a long-standing dispute with Neptune Beach over landfill fees before his terms ends June 30.
But Neptune Beach officials appear willing to let any resolution come with the next mayor.
Landfill fees, commonly referred to as tipping fees, have been a thorn in relations between the two communities since billing began in fiscal 2011-12.
Since the start of fiscal 2012-13, the beach community has owed the city more than $525,000, but has not yet started paying.
Neptune Beach Mayor Harriet Pruette said the fees were “slipped in” Jacksonville’s budget at a time when she and her city manager thought they were still being negotiated.
“They’re trying to absolutely bankrupt us,” Pruette said in a Friday interview.
She addressed Jacksonville City Council in January, sharing frustration and disappointment over a lack of meaningful discussions since she sent Brown a letter in October.
There were opportunities for those discussions, Brown’s administration said then, but they were declined by Neptune Beach officials.
In late May, the city reached out.
Senior Assistant General Counsel Loree French sent an attorney representing Neptune Beach a proposed resolution.
In exchange for the $525,408 owed, Neptune Beach would be responsible for repaving a stretch of Florida Boulevard totaling about $193,700 and an area of Penman Road costing $330,936. And, Neptune Beach would start paying tipping fees.
The Florida Boulevard repaving isn’t scheduled until 2023; the Penman project until 2028.
The intent, the proposal said, was to provide a payment method that gave the beach community time and financing options instead of just cutting a check.
Neptune Beach countered June 7. In a letter from attorney Patrick Krechowski of GrayRobinson, Neptune Beach sought a $200,000 credit for animal control costs it incurred over the past decade.
A proportion of past recycling revenue the city earned also would be credited and would continue to be so in the future
And to account for subsidizing tipping fees in other communities, Jacksonville would annually knock off $50,000 each year.
The beach community was OK with covering the $193,700 for the Florida Boulevard resurfacing.
Days later, though, French responded the city was “surprised” to receive those terms “that appear to move us farther from, instead of closer to, a possible resolution.”
The city, she wrote, believes the tipping fees settlement shouldn’t reference other issues like animal control — that would mean reopening the interlocal agreement.
As for the subsidy, French wrote in the Thursday letter that Jacksonville Beach provides its own fire protection and Baldwin doesn’t receive a millage reduction like Neptune Beach.
In what’s phrased as a final offer, the city issued its previous terms but said Neptune Beach need only contribute $100,000 of the $193,700 Florida Boulevard repaving.
A response is requested by today. Krechowski said Friday he would provide a general response, but called the city’s latest terms “an unreasonable offer.”
Time is running out for a resolution before July 1.
Pruette, though, said Brown hasn’t communicated. His administration is “playing games” on the issue and she was content to wait until Mayor-elect Lenny Curry takes office July 1 to further address the topic.
“I know he will step up and do more for us than Mayor Alvin Brown,” she said.
Additionally, she said the community of about 7,200 residents faces the burden of increased expenses — trash pickup, public safety, animal control — from the additional number of visitors each year. Those issues also will have to be addressed through the interlocal agreement.
Chris Hand, Brown’s chief of staff, said there’s been positive tipping fee discussions the past couple of months and there’s hope of a resolution before the mayor leaves office.
He points to a tipping fee agreement with Atlantic Beach finalized in early May as an example of his work with the Beach communities. The focus, he said, should not be on the past but instead the present to achieve resolution.
The Neptune Beach council meets tonight, but the issue won’t be addressed, Pruette said. The next meeting won’t be until after July 4.
After July 1 will mean new leadership for Jacksonville and accumulated fees for Neptune Beach — and new negotiations for both.
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