A.G. Gancarski
Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford removed his prop bottle of Advil from his desk before the Friday session. Perhaps that was too optimistic a move.
The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings on Friday morning started off with interesting exchanges between Sam Mousa and John Crescimbeni about Fire and Rescue structural issues, before going into a discussion of the property appraiser budget controversy.
— The session started off with Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa clearing up issues related to firefighter safety from the Fire and Rescue session on Thursday. Mousa directed the acting fire chief to, among other things, develop matrixes and performance measures and quantifiable data regarding positions in the department, and “if possible, relate those to a quantifiable financial measurement.”
“What happened in the past is not quantifiable,” Mousa continues.
Lori Boyer brought up workers comp issues and heart and hypertension. Mousa responded that “health and safety officers” existed since the 1980s; the positions were “eliminated completely” early in the Alvin Brown administration.
Then, John Crescimbeni pressed Mousa, saying that “unless the safety officers… are producing savings, this doesn’t hold water for me.”
“The sheriff was before us yesterday,” he said, “and he’s reducing his upper management.”
Crescimbeni voiced an objection to a “new upper management structure.”
Mousa expressed “concern” over all of this being directed to a “new administration and new fire chiefs.”
“Why the savings aren’t there, why they can’t be quantified” he couldn’t address.
The exchange got testy.
“I get to look at this budget every year,” Crescimbeni said, saying that these questions were part of his role.
“I’ve known you long enough to know you’re going to do your homework,” Mousa responded.
— Crescimbeni then went on to complain that the Property Appraiser gets a “free pass” through the Department of Revenue to raise salaries across the board, which is inconsistent with what other departments can do under this budget.
“I think every county should be raising cain about not having final input on the Property Appraiser” budget, he said.
Lori Boyer, meanwhile, supports a motion to challenge the salary structure, while fretting that such an appeal may be “fruitless.”
CFO Mike Weinstein mentioned a directive toward “flat” budgets, to which Boyer replied that budget is not flat.
“It was basically what they wanted to achieve, unrelated to the rest of city government,” Weinstein said.
Boyer supports a motion to appeal the Property Appraiser budget.
Aaron Bowman mentioned the potential fruitlessness of an appeal, asking if a possible legislative remedy would be to look at that budget earlier so it wouldn’t impact the COJ budget cycle.
There could be a resolution prior to June 1, which could be implemented in budgets going forth. Weinstein said the administration would be on board with that. Mousa said “there still may be a timing issue” with that process.
Crescimbeni then pointed out that the Property Appraiser has people in Tallahassee looking out for its interests, and “we may need to combat that.” He has qualms with the Department of Revenue having input in the local budget; “this isn’t unique to Duval County,” he said, and he wants to “reach out to friends in the legislature” and “stand up… for home rule.”
Last year’s resolution to appeal to the Cabinet on this matter will be revived, it appears, on an emergency basis.
— As well, the Fire and Rescue presentation was revisited, with Acting Chief Kurtis Wilson defending positions in his budget; specifically, the chaplain position.
Gulliford mentioned that the controversy is odd to him, given that people “may not be of that denomination” but an “implied trust prevails” between them and the chaplain.
“He does serve a purpose and fill a need,” the Chair added.
Wilson: “I do support the Chaplaincy.”
Gulliford mentioned, per the Public Service Grant position, the limits of relying on volunteers, relating it to this position.
Crescimbeni then stepped in regarding a safety officer position, demanding detail of cost savings on certain positions, and wanting a report on “run times” and “combat calls” comparing the trend of times now versus the 1980s.
He also wondered why a health and safety officer would live outside of Duval County, given the need for rapid response in that role.
