Key Jacksonville councilors warm to Lenny Curry pension bills
Jax City Councilman Bill Gulliford (Photo: A.G. Gancarski)

Bill Gulliford

Two of the most veteran politicians on Jacksonville’s City Council, Bill Gulliford and Tommy Hazouri, discussed the newly-introduced pension legislation with Mayor Lenny Curry Tuesday.

In what may be a sign of a smooth process to come, as the council spends much of April workshopping and mulling the changes to the city’s pension plans, both Gulliford and Hazouri came out of the meeting favorably disposed to the reform legislation (though with questions about the financial impact, numbers which have yet to be rolled out to the public).

Gulliford, a key architect of the 2015 pension reform plan, spoke positively.

“The direction we’re going in is the right way to go,” Gulliford said, especially considering that “there are not a lot of alternatives.”

Gulliford has not seen the financial projection, but he believes “the numbers will support the proposal.”

Gulliford is interested in seeing the breakdown of financial numbers; those will be introduced to the city council Apr. 6, during a council workshop.

Hazouri, meanwhile, says his “questions were answered,” though he wants to talk to the council auditor to get his take.

The ultimate goal: “addressing the horrific $2.8 Billion unfunded liability.”

“We need to address that responsibly, which the mayor is attempting to do,” Hazouri said.

_____

The council will embark on an ambitious schedule regarding pension reform.

A workshop is slated for April 6 to discuss financial particulars of the legislation.

The Police and Fire Pension Fund impact statement is expected Apr. 10.

Council will have a public hearing on Apr. 11 on the pension bills. If the hearing doesn’t wrap by midnight, discussion will have to continue on a future date.

A committee of the whole is expected to convene Apr. 19.

And there may be a special council meeting on Apr. 20 or Apr. 24, ahead of the regular meeting on Apr. 25.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories