An August referendum for a half-cent sales tax to cure the city’s pension woes is a step closer to voters.
The City Council Finance Committee on Monday unanimously passed the measure by a 7-0 vote, setting it up for a final vote next Tuesday.
The referendum championed by Mayor Lenny Curry would extend the Better Jacksonville Plan infrastructure tax after it is scheduled to expire in 2030.
The revenue would pay down the city’s more than $2.8 billion worth of unfunded pension liability.
However, details some council members are asking for to help sell the plan to voters remain scant.
For example, council member Tommy Hazouri wanted to know more about the financial details and potential savings between now and when the tax goes into effect.
Mike Weinstein, Curry’s chief financial officer, said for now the priority is simply to have voters pass the extension.
Potential savings can’t be determined until after collective bargaining with pension agencies — a step that will take place if voters pass the measure — and other topics are simply hypotheticals that could harm the effort.
Weinstein referred to it as a two-step process — and he didn’t want to lose the required first step because of a focus on the second.
Several council members agreed. John Crescimbeni called such details “too squishy at this point” to focus on, while Lori Boyer later referred to it as “premature.”
Instead, Boyer said, the issue at hand is the tax extension provides a benefit of getting the city out of massive pension debt and takes steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
That locked-in payment method is what voters should consider, she said, not the yet-determined savings that could result.
Next year, the city’s pension contribution rises to more than $282 million, up from $260 million this year. It would peak out at about $400 million in the next decade without changes.
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