A.G. Gancarski
A major impediment to Jacksonville city government reaching resolution to the ongoing Police and Fire Pension Fund crisis was pushed aside Friday afternoon.
The “motion for Preliminary and Final Injunctive Relief came before the Court for hearing on June 5, 2015. Having heard argument of counsel and being otherwise fully advised, the Court finds that Plaintiffs’ motion should be DENIED.”
The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, who sought to stall out the latest iteration of the pension deal, filed for a court injunction to hold up the deal. There was speculation it would hold up Tuesday’s consideration of the deal that got through two committees this week.
Now? That roadblock has been removed.
Optimism abounds about the bill passing. Florida Politics spoke with a couple of council members off the record, and they see it going through by a 13 to six margin. Even if a couple of them are moved against it before Tuesday, chances are good that a viable deal will be passed.
The next question: how to finance it.
The pension deal has been a major priority of the Alvin Brown administration, and Councilman Bill Gulliford has pushed hard to get the current version of the deal through.
It looks to be almost there.
Brown’s Chief of Staff Chris Hand sees it as one step closer to a major policy victory.
“Pension reform has been a priority for Mayor Brown since he took office. After four years of hard work, we are on the cusp for achieving significant reform. He is very pleased that the retirement reform legislation will move forward at City Council on Tuesday night,” Hand said in a prepared statement.
“Mayor Brown and our team have worked closely with Councilman Gulliford and support the bill as passed by the Rules and Finance committees. It is very similar to the last reform legislation that the Mayor brought to City Council and provides significant savings for taxpayers, improves accountability at the Police and Fire Pension Fund, and protects the retirements of public safety employees,” Hand said.
Councilman Bill Gulliford, who has been instrumental in getting the current deal to this point, was likewise emphatic.
Hopefully, on Tuesday.
