A.G. Gancarski
It’s the most exciting time of the year in #jaxpol: the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings start Thursday!
For those upset that Jacksonville lacks a Disney-style theme park attraction, no worries: the next couple of weeks offers a veritable thrill ride through a mystery maze of line items, subfunds, and allocations. And you can beat the heat in Council Chambers, as the central air conditioning imbues the room with a frosty chill no matter the weather outside.
Between August 13 and August 28, there will be no less than seven day long deep dives into a review of the mayor’s proposed budgets and independent agency budgets.
All budget review sessions run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with an hour break for lunch. These 420 minute work sessions offer something for even the most hardened budget wonk.
The fun kicks off on Thursday with a budget presentation by the administration, then a rollicking 165 minute session with Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, before the program moves into a review of the Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue budgets.
Friday’s session kicks off with public libraries, before going into Intragovernmental Services, the General Counsel, Ethics, the Inspector General, the Health Administrator, the Housing Authority, Emergency Contingency, and, to kick start the weekend, the Medical Examiner.
The most current schedule of all sessions for the rest of the month resides here.
We will offer gavel to gavel coverage of these events for those who cannot attend, but who want to know where their money is going.
