A.G. Gancarski
The Thursday afternoon Jacksonville City Council Budget Review began, as the council auditor presentation continued with a lively discussion of public service grants. The morning session is here.
1:20: Councilman Tommy Hazouri is annoyed by a lack of clarity on these from Rashanda Jackson, chairwoman of the Public Service Grant Council. John Crescimbeni goes on to outline a “couple of things wrong” with the process, such as the Cultural Council getting $2.8 million, and social services getting just $2 million: “not enough dollars.” The scoring of grant applications, also, “is all over the place” and subjective. This is a rollicking start. “There’s something wrong with the process.”
1:33: Crescimbeni: “I’m almost to the point where I want to throw everything on this sheet out the window” and restart the process. “The arts community does not go hungry.”
1:34: Crescimbeni then says , “The smart thing to do would be to plug in a number” and refine the process.
1:37: Bill Gulliford: “I’m listening to a broken system.”
1:39: Lori Boyer throwing shade at the subjective scoring process of the grant applications now. Two issues: fixing the system, and figuring out what to do this year.
1:41: Reggie Gaffney joins the consensus of saying that there needs to be a committee.
1:46: Gulliford reminds everyone that the point of this budget process is the budget, not creating a more holistic fix.
1:46: Ali Korman Shelton (representing the Lenny Curry administration) says that the understaffed Public Service Grants committee is considered an “emergency” by the administration.
1:49: As Crescimbeni makes the case for going back to the drawing board, Shelton has a quiet conversation on the side.
1:50: The solution is a subcommittee. The solution is always a subcommittee. Looks like Vice Chair Anna Brosche will head it up, and decision on public service grants will be deferred until the last budget day.
1:57: Brosche is unclear as to what the subcommittee will actually do. Gulliford: Take a holistic look, come back with recommendations.
1:59: Jackson: “There have been some bad apples” on the board. Encouraging. A lot of turnover between mayoral administrations. There’s a story there.
2:00: Ernest Isaac is available for a board spot. Last hurrah?
2:01: Crescimbeni says there needs to be a better selection process for this board. As he says, “I’m not sure grant writing is the only qualification that should be looked at,” Shelton shakes her head.
2:02: Crescimbeni wants to offer a motion to move forward with current allocation, and “maybe come back and re-examine” with subcommittee input.
2:08: That subcommittee should be interesting.
