A.G. Gancarski
Wednesday’s slate of Jacksonville Transition Budget Reviews continues with the General Counsel and Military Affairs offices.
10:53 a.m.: The budget is pretty stable, except for one salary reduction.
10:56 a.m.: Talk of the Jacksonville Electric Authority having its own in-house legal charter. This would drop their demand for OGC services, but there will “always be a need” for expertise on environmental and other issues, according to Jason Gabriel.
11 a.m.: The OGC represents 32 elected officials and the rest of government, except for the School Board and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. However, the General Counsel is still the lawyer of record. The JTA and the Police and Fire Pension Fund also take advantage of outside counsel, and City Council and the Inspector General as well has its own legal advisors.
11:03 a.m.: Mousa wants to know why people think they need their own legal advisers. Weinstein believes that there is a competition for resources, but that the OGC legal opinion is binding.
11:05 a.m.: Enhancements mirror that in other departments. Internal services are flat. There was an increase in budget for a claims and contingency account, because the previous year required more than anticipated.
11:11 a.m.: Mousa asserts that money spent hiring outside witnesses needs to be controlled and spent by the OGC.
11:13 a.m.: The case is being made for a $78,000 stronger document management system, for documents, pleadings, et al. A “holistic grouping” that is “unique to the legal community” that addresses confidentiality concerns. This also helps with institutional knowledge concerns, especially with inevitable staff attrition and new arrivals. Concerns from the Curry team about collaboration with IT and integration into the larger resource management system.
11:24 a.m.: This has been an extended discussion of this system.
11:28 a.m.: On to Military Affairs.
11:29 a.m.: Shari Shuman is running this particular meeting, as Mousa had to step out.
11:30 a.m.: The Travel Line has been questioned. It focuses on six Veteran’s Service officers who are required to maintain certifications, says Vic Guillory, who runs this department.
11:32 a.m.: This department is fully staffed. A 2 percent reduction of expenses from last year. They are getting the grants they need. If only all of these departments ran so smoothly. The Jaguars and the Labor Department have grants that total $300,000 a year; the latter addresses homeless veterans. There are also state grants for encroachment protection and advocacy for the city. $1.3 million in grants per year total. This decreases burden on taxpayers.
11:35 a.m.: And that’s it until the afternoon sessions.
