JACKSONVILLE, Fla — As a new term begins for Jacksonville City Council, Mayor Lenny Curry has presented his budget proposal which lays out extensive plans for infrastructure improvements and increased funding for public safety.
The $1.34 billion budget, which can be read in its entirety here, does not include any significant cuts to citywide spending and avoids any changes to tax rates for residents.
In a Zoom meeting with city council, city staffers and the public, Curry touted the city's ability to largely maintain spending levels seen in prior years without much belt-tightening.
"When I presented a budget to you last year, every projection indicated we would continue to have record levels of economic growth ahead of us. Now, with the impact of COVID-19, we face a much different set of challenges and possibilities," Curry noted.
Facing calls for cuts to the budget of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and a request by Sheriff Mike Williams to increase the agency's funding by $6.2 million, Curry proposed a roughly $3 million increase in police spending.
If approved, that increase would bring JSO's budget to more than $484 million, the largest single chunk of city spending. Reducing crime was accounted for in $1.8 million for the Mayor's Cure Violence initiative and $150,000 to First Coast Crime Stoppers.
Mayor Curry addressed the recent protests and calls for cuts, pointing toward ambitious spending in infrastructure improvements in underserved districts in Northwest Jacksonville.
"I've consistently stated that one of the most effective ways that government can create positive change is to invest in our neighborhoods," he said. "That includes infrastructure promises made long ago when our city was consolidated that have yet to be fully realized."
As part of that push, around $100 million would be spent on infrastructure in Districts 7, 8, 9 and 10, which together make up most of the northern and western areas of the city. Around $240 million in total would be spent on citywide infrastructure as part of the budget.
Northside Coalition leader Ben Frazier does not think that’s going to make the kind of impact the Mayor thinks it will.
“The reality is that this budget is still old school and disappointing. It pays no real attention to the demands and desires of the people,” Frazier said.
Frazier said he would like to see even less go to JSO, and more reinvested in underserved communities.
“We think more should be used for social services, for community services,” Frazier said.
Line items also include beautification projects, façade improvements and updates to public works on Moncrief Road. Frazier said that is a start, but questions how the area can get more jobs to those who need them.
"You can't do it with a simple beautification project," Frazier said. "That’s a step in the right direction, but what we need now is something much more concrete. Something much more substantial in terms of addressing these economic disparities.”
Taxes and the funding of improvement projects across the city were a topic of conversation for council members following Curry's presentation. But Curry did not stay after finishing his address, leaving staff members to answer questions from the council.
While changes to the tax rate are avoided in the proposal, ultimately that is a decision that could be made by Jacksonville City Council.
"As a group, we're going to have to exercise our fiduciary responsibilities to make sure we make decisions that take care of the basic services of our city," said Councilman Matt Carlucci, chair of the Finance Committee.
Carlucci told First Coast News an increase in the millage rate is not off the table, but councilmembers need time to comb through the budget.
"I think in the next two weeks, the council will need to be thinking on 'Would we want to advertise a millage increase of just a little bit to give us a cushion because [the budget] is so tight?'" Carlucci said. "We want to keep the level of services where they are, we want to be able to handle the 'what if..''"
And with the economic impacts from COVID-19, it remains unclear how Jacksonville could be affected by shortfalls from Florida's sales tax revenue.
"The big 'if,' is what happens to state revenue sharing of the sales tax? And those are unknowns, and will be unknowns for quite awhile," Carlucci added.
City council has until the end of September to approve the new budget for the next fiscal year, meaning taxes will be an ongoing conversation.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department would see a significant increase in funding if Curry's budget is approved in the amount of $12.434 million. Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes said money in the budget would go toward multiple new fire stations and renovations to others.
In total, three new fire stations are budgeted into the coming fiscal year: one at E-Town Parkway and State Road 9-B with a completion date of 2024, one near Bertha St. and Harts Rd. on the Northside with a completion date of 2022 and one at I-295 and Wilson Boulevard with a completion date of 2022.