A.G. Gancarski
On Tuesday morning, the Finance Committee of the Jacksonville City Council met and deliberated a number of key bills, including the Police and Fire Pension Deal and the funding for the much-advertised “90 Day Audit” that Mayor-elect Lenny Curry promised during the campaign.
The pension deal was the main event, of course, and it passed through committee by a 6-to-3 margin. The argument posited by Councilman Bill Gulliford, that 2015-304 is the “first step” toward resolution of the long-running impasse, prevailed over objections from council members Matt Schellenberg and Lori Boyer,
Schellenberg was especially direct in his remarks, arguing that the deal on the table was “falling back to the insane belief” that there is “no problem with seven years” of an agreement. Boyer agreed.
Councilwoman Kim Daniels called the question relatively early in the discussion, ensuring that debate was truncated compared with that on Monday morning in the Rules Committee.
The bill will move on to be considered by the full council on Tuesday.
Another notable bill passed by Finance, also by a 6-3 margin, was 2015-400, appropriating $415,000 for the 90 Day Audit. The audit as proposed would be conducted by Ernst and Young, given that of the three viable options, McGladrey has worked city finances and PricewaterhouseCoopers could have represented a conflict of interest since Curry once worked there.
Councilman John Crescimbeni questioned whether the 90 Day Audit is realistic, with Gulliford concurring along similar lines, commenting that a 90 Day Audit during the transition presents awkward timing.
Representing the transition team, Sam Mousa allayed misconceptions about the audit, saying the mayor-elect wants a “handle” on the city’s fiscal situation, adding that “we do not suspect any sort of fraud.” The independent audit would, he asserted, help determine stresses on the city’s finances, and would also help ascertain liquidity issues.
Mousa said there would be a meeting at noon Tuesday with auditors, Curry, and others to decide the exact scope of the audit, which Curry has “specific ideas” about. Attempts have been made to reach the transition team for comment about that meeting.
Schellenberg was blunt, telling Mousa, “You won’t get what you need in this budget year” and that the audit therefore could not affect the current budget. Mousa agreed.
Finance OK’d the measure 6 to 3.
In other Curry-related news, Finance unanimously approved a measure to allow Curry to deliver his budget message on July 20 prior to the Rules Committee meeting.
In news more germane to the current administration, the Water Taxi appropriations measure, discussed Monday during Rules, was withdrawn.
