A.G. Gancarski
Jon Heymann is here from the Jacksonville Children’s Commission for the Sam Mousa Transition Team Budget Review.
9:40: Fingerprinting costs removed. Rental of city facilities reduced.
9:44: A discussion of pension contributions. Health insurance and workers comp are both up. Elections of coverage are a driver.
9:47: Travel expenses are up $10K. Heymann says that he’s not travelling more than he used to. There are statewide meetings, et al.
9:49: Extraordinary lapses now. “They put a lapse in our budget in order to meet our budget.” There were hard caps on the budget last year for the Children’s Commission by City Council.
9:52: Two after school programs were previously grant funded. Now, they have been moved into the budget. Over $400K increase. Mousa wants to know why it had to be moved into the budget. Heymann says that precedent was established under John Delaney.
9:57: A discussion of grant funding to city match. 2/3 city, 1/3 match. The commission has added a grant writer to chase national level grants from Americorps and other groups. A discussion of Jacksonville Journey dollars over the last eight years.
10:03: A discussion of the recurring fund balance, which is driven by attendance in programs. Angela Moyer believes that there needs to be a tighter rein on overages. Heymann counters with a need for slack in the budget, because there may be waiting lists and so there needs to be “latitude” to spend on children. Mousa has concerns that this money is going into salaries, and won’t be a sustainable source, so people may be laid off because the money isn’t there.
10:05: “You’ve just got to cut people off if you don’t have the money.” – Mousa.
10:06: Question about the trend and how much money flows back to the budget from the fund balance. From year to year, this number changes.
10:10: Heymann says that the focus should be on structure, not budget. He asserts that statistical reporting on prevention and intervention, and melding organizations together to focus on crime to craft a more convincing public narrative. Mousa says there might still be a budget cut.
10:12: A discussion of the Incubator Program. Every evidence based program today was not based in evidence at one time. Thus, they need $300K for this; the ask is $150K though. This is in the budget every year; every year it is cut. Shari Shuman reframes the term as a “pilot” program.
10:18: Mousa: “With every entity that’s General Fund dependent, they come here and say it’s our money. Well, it’s not your money.”
10:20: More defense of the fund balance. They are restricted program by program, and so they want real flexibility. Mike Weinstein suggests that they ask for flexibility from Council. Right now an allocation can be a 2 1/2 month process. Obviously these aren’t emergency situations, like Charlotte’s Web moratoriums.
10:22: Mousa says they need to ask for transfer authority and flexibility. Also wants to know metrics they use to judge success, and who monitors the metrics. Heymann says it’s him, and their non-profit partners are doing “marvelous work,” related to GPA increases and in-school behavior modification. “With all the talk about the Journey, I really do think we can make this happen.”
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