Mayor Lenny Curry knew when he took office July 1 of the financial burdens in front of him.
The biggest? Figuring out how to pay down the city’s almost $2.7 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
The debt and required annual pay-down drains money that could be used for quality-of-life improvements, infrastructure and Curry’s top priority, public safety.
After months of private discussions, he went public with his plan Monday.
Curry wants to extend the Better Jacksonville Plan’s 1/2-cent sales tax, scheduled to expire in 2030, for up to 30 years.
He wants to move future employees, including public safety members, to a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan. And he wants this decided by elected officials, not by voters in a referendum like when the infrastructure tax originally was put into place in 2000.
It was a problem he began reviewing during his transition. And this course, his Plan A, is one he decided on in the summer, shortly after taking office and meeting with his senior staff for possible solutions.
The plan starts with the Legislature. In December, he recruited two Northeast Florida legislators with a recent history of success on state pension reform.
“If Northeast Florida can’t get its financial house in order, it will have implications,” said state Sen. Rob Bradley. “This can fairly be described as a financial crisis that needs to be addressed.”
State Rep. Travis Cummings will be House sponsor of a bill expected to be filed by the end of the week.
The Clay County legislators said they know it will be difficult to move the idea through Tallahassee.
Bradley said some legislators don’t like the idea of moving public safety members to a 401(k)-type system and away from a pension.
Cummings said there isn’t much appetite among lawmakers for any form of a tax extension or increase and the plan likely will generate “a great amount of scrutiny.” He said he generally is in line with that stance, but is taking Curry’s plan up because of the dire situation Northeast Florida is in. The area has anywhere between one-fourth to one-third of all unfunded liability in the state.
Before Curry reached out to the lawmakers, he pitched the idea to area elected officials and business leaders, such as the JAX Chamber and Civic Council.
“Both organizations know we have to solve this problem,” Curry said.
Former mayors John Delaney and John Peyton were also pitched.
Delaney was the one who put the issue to voters during his first term and in a text message said he “completely” supports where Curry is going on the issue.
Delaney said with the Better Jacksonville Plan tax set to expire in 2030, Curry’s idea is a replacement tax — a new tax, Delaney said — but one “that solves a lot of problems.” Taxpayers, Delaney said, won’t see any increase when it kicks in.
Curry in his presentation to council Monday called on those with relationships in Tallahassee to lobby for the move.
He’ll make the trek west to the capital next week for three days of meetings. Three lobbying firms he’s hired also will make the pitch to varying degrees.
“We are dealing with a crisis,” he said Monday. “… The sky really is falling.”
But the Legislature would only be the first step. If it approved, it would need buy-in from public safety unions, the Police and Fire Pension Fund board and, ultimately, council.
A supermajority of the 19 members would be needed to extend the tax — not a referendum, like when the tax was put into place back in 2000.
Given the dire situation, Curry said the decision should stay with elected officials.
“I was elected by the people of Jacksonville. The members of council were elected by the people of Jacksonville to solve problems as their representatives,” said Curry. “This is the biggest issue facing the city.”
@writerchapman
(904) 356-2466