JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville City Council voted 14 to 5 Wednesday to pass the local option gas tax increase, slated to fund more than $900 million in road, transit and drainage projects.
The so-called “Jobs for Jax” program will provide funding over the next 30 years for several items including the Emerald Trail and JTA’s long-criticized Skyway-to-U2C conversion.
The measure will add an extra 6 cents per gallon to Duval County's existing 6 cents per gallon fuel tax. The proposal would extend the current 6-cent tax through 2046, and implement the additional 6 cents for a 30-year period.
The Skyway project, which would convert the 2.5-mile downtown rail system to autonomous vehicles that can travel on street level, avoided another attempt to cut the $247 million in funding that would be generated by the gas tax.
Councilmember Randy DeFoor introduced the amendment, which failed in a 4-13 vote. Two weeks ago, the city council shifted $132 million in funding from the Skyway to the Emerald Trail.
Mayor Lenny Curry says the vote will fulfill decades-old promises of infrastructure improvements through city consolidation.
“Today’s a historic day for our ability to invest in much needed infrastructure in our city. I’m grateful for the partnership with Nat Ford and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and his team, I appreciate them bringing this idea to us and now getting it to a council vote and turning this into a reality,” Mayor Curry said.
Other amendments that passed during Wednesday’s meeting, both introduced by councilmember Michael Boylan, will allow the JTA and the city to create a public access dashboard so people can view the progress of various projects. The other amendment will require compliance with ethics standards in Florida statute.
On top of the big-ticket items including Skyway and Emerald Trail, some of the gas tax revenue could also fund the phase-out of septic tanks in Jacksonville.
"My last infrastructure investment in my last budget was $240 plus million, which was historic. But we’ve neglected this stuff for years, and we need a source of revenue. The reason we are financially sound is due to a number of reasons...this is just another step in being fiscally responsible and investing in neglected areas of our city," Curry said.
JTA CEO Nathaniel Ford says getting the green light for this project will help them levy additional federal funding for the Skyway-U2C conversion project.
“The U2C project is the future, and it needs to be in place to prepare for all of the downtown development that’s already happening," Ford said.
Opponents of the gas tax increase say the city is in great financial shape and can live within its means without raising taxes.
“One of the historic things that I think about this is how so much of our community has spoken out to our elected officials about how they don’t want this. And we are ignoring that,” Councilman Al Ferraro said in his closing remarks.
Mayor Curry says the tax is a necessary tool to invest in the backlog of infrastructure projects.
“When asked if people want the tax, most people say no. They don’t want to be taxed, but that’s how you pay for things. And you ask the same people if they want to do these infrastructure projects? Do they want their neighborhoods taken care of and invested in? The answer is yes,” Curry said.
The 6-cent gas tax increase will go into effect January 1, 2022.
Councilmembers voting in favor of the increase include Aaron Bowman, Michael Boylan, Matt Carlucci, Garrett Dennis, Terrance Freeman, Reggie Gaffney, Tommy Hazouri, Joyce Morgan, Sam Newby, Ju'Coby Pittman, Brenda Priestly Jackson, Ron Salem, Randy White and Kevin Carrico. Those who voted against it were Danny Becton, LeAnna Cumber, Randy DeFoor, Rory Diamond and Al Ferraro.
First Coast News will continue to update this developing story.