JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The Jacksonville City Council voted 17-2 in favor of Mayor Lenny Curry's $1.3 billion budget for 2021 Tuesday night.
Additionally, City Councilman Garrett Dennis withdrew his controversial amendment to temporarily withhold nearly half of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's $484 million portion. The amendment would have required the sheriff to appear before the council in six months to receive the remaining funds.
JSO praised the decisions before they were formalized, sending out the following statement about an hour before Dennis' withdrawal and the budget vote.
"Sheriff Williams wishes to thank the members of City Council for their continued support of the men and women of JSO. As the overall budget process has not changed significantly in recent years, Sheriff Williams is proud of the cooperative approach the Finance Committee members demonstrated once again. The FY21 budget season kicked off in March with numerous discussions to provide ample clarification of the nuance of the agency’s budget. While 2020 has proven to be a challenging year for our city on so many fronts, we stand by the shared commitment to meet the needs of serving the people of Jacksonville."
Our partners at the Florida Times-Union reported Dennis' amendment had already attracted opposition from council members and Mayor Lenny Curry. Those council members and Curry described it as an attempt to defund the police and said they would not back the proposal.