JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The bell rang on Monday on the latest round in the fight over how Jacksonville city leaders should spend taxpayers’ money.
City Council President Kevin Carrico, who has been publicly sparring with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, announced that the budget the Finance Committee is sending to city council cuts more than $13 million from what Deegan proposed.
“We shouldn’t be discussing any increases. We shouldn’t be discussing keeping it flat. We should be discussing giving those dollars back,” Carrico said. “We need to continue to push and say, enough is enough. We want the relief. We want to give the money back to the citizens.”
Deegan addressed the media following Carrico’s announcement and called the ongoing tug-of-war a “political move.”
“Where is the citizen in all this? Where is putting our citizens first in that? It’s the same reason that we saw this press conference this morning. It’s all because of political pressure from Tallahassee to do something that wasn’t even in their heads,” Deegan said.
Carrico said the cuts made by the City Council Finance Committee don’t come at the expense of “essential services” but acknowledged that other city projects are on the chopping block.
‘Essential’ services
When News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee asked Carrico what he considers “essential” services, his focus was solely on safety.
“Our essential services are public safety first and foremost. That’s our responsibility as government: so police, fire, infrastructure needs, things that keep us safe,” Carrico said. “We can’t have potholes the size of Volkswagens. We have to fix that because that endangers us. Anything that’s safety, that’s essential.”
However, Deegan said it is the government’s job to step in and look for solutions to issues that the private sector is not solving.
“I’m really frustrated to continue to hear the type of rhetoric that we’re hearing about fraudulent programs or programs that aren’t needed from government,” Deegan said.
As far as other services like housing assistance and health care access?
“Everything else we have to look at openly and see if...that’s something we fund or not,” Carrico said.
But Deegan said affordable housing should be a priority, as it is one of the top issues vocalized by citizens.
“We hear all the time about infrastructure in the neighborhoods. We hear all the time about people that feel like their housing is out of control and unaffordable. You have to make sure that people understand that everything is predicated on how things affect our economy. And every time we don’t invest in these things, and every time that we have to pull money out of these things, it hurts our economy and it hurts our city,” Deegan said.
City Council Vice President Nick Howland called government spending on social programs “waste.”
“Governments think taking your money will solve society’s ills, like affordable housing, hunger, hospital bills, free roofs and down payment assistance,” Howland said. “Instead, taking taxpayers’ hard-earned money out of their wallets makes them more likely to need affordable housing, subsidized meals, Medicaid and down payment assistance.”
City Council Finance Committee Chair Raul Arias seemed to agree.
“Too often, we hear talk about new social programs, but rarely do we hear talk about real relief, the relief that our taxpayers need,” Arias said. “(Those services are) footing the bills in many cases, and in many cases as well, they’re overpaying. So I asked a question we all must ask each other: When is enough enough?”
City services funding
Several health programs for the uninsured are on the chopping block in the committee’s proposal.
Programs like Healthlink JAX, Project Save Lives, and Dental Care Access could be fully eliminated. These initiatives provide uninsured residents with access to clinics, prescriptions, and preventive care.
Jax CareConnect told News4JAX that they’re still seeing high demand for referrals and say the need for their services is only growing.
Just last week, the finance committee reached an agreement to add back $1.7 million in funding for the Meals on Wheels program that had initially been among proposed cuts to the mayor’s budget.
The mayor’s administration originally asked for $2.1 million for senior services to combat food insecurity for the city’s elderly population.
“I would like to see us fully fund that program for meals for seniors. Even if we fully fund it, we’re still going to have a lot of seniors who are going hungry. I don’t think we need to do that. It’s not a big part of the budget. And again, it’s not a problem that is being solved in the private sector. We need to solve this problem,” Deegan said on Monday.
Carrico’s response Monday was to suggest involving nonprofits in covering some of those services.
“I’m willing to go to the table as a nonprofit leader to work with these organizations, to try to help them with philanthropic efforts and leverage these resources to try to help non-government organizations,” Carrico said. “It’s just being an advocate and helping those organizations find resources out in the private sector.”
Property tax cuts
The Finance Committee’s budget proposal includes a property tax rate cut of 1/8th of a mil, which determines how much you pay in property taxes.
One mill represents $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable property value. If your home’s taxable value is $200,000, the 1/8th cut would save you about $25 a year in this case.
Deegan has called the proposal to cut property taxes “fiscally irresponsible.”
“The average homeowner will get about a dollar. A dollar a month back on property tax rollbacks. But what does that mean for seniors who tell us what they need like pools or meals for seniors? Or like housing that is affordable. All the money is gone for affordable housing right now,” Deegan said.
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News4JAX spoke with Kiara Green, a homeowner in Jacksonville to ask her thoughts about what she thinks would be best for citizens.
“I think services are more important. Even as a homebuyer, I think the greater good is more important. Accessibility is good that people have and then I work a little harder,” Green said.
But some said the services that are being funded help people who live near downtown more than the rest of the city.
“It depends on who you ask. I feel like the people who live downtown benefit a little more from the property taxes than the people who live at the beach,” Jeremy Klein, who lives in Atlantic Beach, said.
Carrico and the members of the Finance Committee said any dollar back in the hands of the taxpayer matters, and they countered Deegan’s assertion about funding for public safety and infrastructure.
“Essential services are essential. They will be funded. It’s all the other things, all the other choices that people have made,” said Florida Republican Party Chair Evan Power. “Property tax is the No. 1 issue facing Floridians, and if Jacksonville can make the tough decisions, so can every other city government across this state.”
Free ticket fight
Howland said the Finance Committee’s budget “cuts waste and reduces property taxes by millions.”
“We cut fees for lobbyists in half. We cut the mayor’s office salaries by more than $400,000. We cut perks for elected officials, travel perks and ticket perks,” Howland said.
Late last week, the committee voted to cut more than $38,000 in funding for the city’s suite at EverBank Stadium — a move that ends a 30-year tradition of both the mayor’s office and councilmembers having access to gameday seats.
The cuts came amid a public back-and-forth over council members requesting equal access to free event tickets for city-owned venues.
Deegan has said she would consider legislation that would eliminate free tickets for city officials to all city events.
Deegan said she’s hopeful that the cuts will be rejected once the budget goes before the full city council in September.
She shared this statement before Carrico’s announcement on Monday:
"It’s my hope that we’ll have less performers and more statesmen as the budget moves to the full City Council in September. ... People across the city are hurting while (Council President Carrico) cheers on millions of dollars in cuts to programs that make housing more affordable, reduce homelessness, and improve health care access. I look forward to discussing these adjustments to a well-developed, balanced budget with all 19 council members.”