Two more weeks.
That’s when the City Council JEA Agreement Special Committee plans to wrap up its deliberations over the utility’s annual contribution to the city general fund budget.
Initially charged with updating the formula used to calculate JEA’s annual contribution, the group has been meeting for nearly 11 months.
Along the way, other issues were added, such as a possible one-time contribution from the not-for-profit utility toward the city’s unfunded pension liability and how to pay for installation of sewer lines in areas of Duval County with septic tanks.
“We’re getting close and we need to move this thing,” said committee Chair Bill Gulliford.
“Looks like you’re bringing us in for a landing. That’s great,” said council President Greg Anderson.
Gulliford said the committee should be ready to draft legislation for the contribution formula after it meets Jan. 26. He scheduled a two-hour meeting for that day to give the committee time to finalize its recommendations.
Both parties agreed Tuesday the formula based on a minimum annual contribution of $114.2 million with a yearly increase of not more than 1.75 percent would be acceptable.
Another major issue for the committee — negotiating a possible one-time contribution from JEA of as much as $12 million to help pay down the pension debt — was tabled Tuesday based on Mayor Lenny Curry’s proposal to extend the Better Jacksonville Plan half-cent sales tax to help pay down the pension deficit.
The additional sales tax was approved by voters in 2000 to fund $2.25 billion in capital improvements, including road and sewer projects, the Duval County Courthouse and the Main Library.
The tax was scheduled to end by 2030, but Curry has proposed leaving it in place for up to 30 years, designating the revenue for the pension liability.
Sam Mousa, Curry’s chief administrative officer, pointed out there’s a long way to go before the mayor’s proposal could be implemented.
That would include approval of the plan by the Legislature, followed by the voters’ approval in a referendum.
Council Vice President Lori Boyer said if the sales tax extension is approved, it could make as much as $100 million available in the general fund budget.
She said while that much unencumbered money would bring out an array of proposals on how to spend it, the city’s basic needs should be the priority.
“We could use a substantial chunk of those funds for infrastructure improvement,” Boyer said.
The septic tank mitigation proposal that came out of the committee — a plan for JEA to contribute $15 million toward septic tank replacement to be matched by the city over a five-year period — also would be acceptable terms for legislation to be introduced to the full council.
Mousa estimated the cost to phase out septic tanks in environmentally sensitive areas of the county at $300 million.
He said he’s confident the administration, Public Works Department and JEA can develop a sewer installation plan for submission to council in 60-90 days.
The committee is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Jan. 26 in the Lynwood Roberts Room at City Hall.
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