A.G. Gancarski
One of the things that Transition Executive Director Sam Mousa has complained about during the Lenny Curry mayoral transition is the use of the Banking Fund.
Based on the tail end of Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee meeting, it seems like he has some allies. By unanimous consent, the committee approved a move to get a bill in front of city council to bring the Banking Fund, which has been a source of loose money for close to a decade, to a close.
In speaking of the measure, the committee members used the strongest possible language.
Panel member Lori Boyer, who did most of the talking during this part of the Finance Committee meeting, stressed that the fund was “conceived as an internal service fund” with “money to re-lend and re-pay,” but that it hasn’t worked as expected.
“It’s just too easy to borrow and increase city debt,” she said.
Richard Clark echoed her concerns.
“Originally when this was pitched,” the committee chair said, it was expected there would be limits. Instead, some unidentified people opted to “leverage, leverage, leverage.”
“We knew this would be dangerous in the wrong hands; maybe we were the wrong hands.”
Bill Gulliford, another committee member, described the “insidious” fund as “deferred taxation with interest,” before mocking those who postured about fiscal rectitude.
“Look at me: I’m a political hero because I rolled back your millage rate.”
Only Orlando uses such a fund currently, which gave council members pause also.
The questions are now how and when to turn off the faucet. The Curry team is grappling with budget issues, but what is clear is that at least the Finance Committee will resist unaccountable, profligate spending.
