Mayor Donna Deegan presented her $2 billion budget proposal on Monday to the Jacksonville City Council, highlighting efforts to streamline permit processes for small businesses, address affordable housing and homelessness, meet public safety needs, continue to improve literacy and education, and tackle blight.

Mayor Donna Deegan is pushing what she considers a major investment in Jacksonville’s first responders, with more than $1 billion of her $2 billion budget proposal designated for public safety.

Mayor Donna Deegan presented her $2 billion budget proposal on Monday to the Jacksonville City Council, highlighting efforts to streamline permit processes for small businesses, address affordable housing and homelessness, meet public safety needs, continue to improve literacy and education, and tackle blight.

Mayor Donna Deegan on Wednesday announced a huge budget increase of $21.7 million for Jacksonville’s Mowing and Landscape Maintenance Division — a 95-percent increase from the 2022 budget.