A.G. Gancarski
“Promises made, promises kept.”
That was a tagline of the mayoral campaign of Alvin Brown. The phrase didn’t get him re-elected, but it applies just as well to the first Lenny Curry budget.
New police officers? Eighty are in there: 40 regular police officers, and 40 community service officers, essential for the “prevention and intervention” pieces of the PIE approach. The addition puts a considerable dent into the numbers of officers promised during the campaign (142 police officers, 91 community service officers) in contrast to the narrative that emerged that Brown cut the police force.
Jacksonville Journey? About $3 million more than in the previous year. Money that will address “prevention” and “intervention” both, perhaps keeping at-risk youth from lives of crime.
Infrastructure? An ambitious capital improvement program, headlined by fixing the infamous Liberty Street Collapse.
Public safety, of course, was the big issue of the campaign. And with that in mind, it was perhaps appropriate that Curry’s first budget was signed at the Criminal Justice Center on the north side, where those 80 new officers will be trained.
Speaking of the budget, the mayor noted that it passed “unanimously,” a tribute to the “leadership of the council president” and “relationships” the mayor had developed with City Council.
Indeed, Democrats Garrett Dennis and Reggie Gaffney were on hand, along with Republicans Lori Boyer, Anna Brosche, Aaron Bowman, Danny Becton, and Doyle Carter. Almost a quorum.
Curry spoke of safety of adults and children, and the future of children as well, as being priorities with this budget.
Turning to the sheriff, a man with whom Curry was yoked during the campaign, who shared an inauguration with the mayor, and who (as both men related in separate anecdotes) is often confused with Curry, the mayor referred to their “fantastic relationship.”
Curry described a campaign trip to Grand Park, where he talked to a family who had seen a shooting the night before, and a post-campaign walk through the Eureka Gardens apartment complex, as examples of why his commitment to public safety and programs to improve quality of life for those in these communities are so key.
And he spoke of at-risk kids, including some who have “crossed the line … but they want to know we care.”
Regarding infrastructure, the days of “neglect” are over, accomplished “without raising taxes” while “paying down tens of millions of dollars in debt.”
A balanced budget “without a lot of drama” is great. However, Curry asserted that “heavy lifting” is ahead for council and the mayor both.
For Sheriff Mike Williams, in a position to hire 200 people during the next 20 months, the budget is a godsend.
For Council President Greg Anderson, the budget “addresses key elements throughout the community,” such as public safety, infrastructure, roads, sidewalks, and “deferred maintenance” issues.
As Curry signed the budget, he smiled and said his tagline One City, One Jacksonville.
Though the budget is a “big win for Jacksonville,” the future is still to be determined.
Ernst and Young is doing an “assessment” of the city’s finances, Curry said to the media after the event.
And board appointments, a subject of discussion among the media before the budget ceremony, are still going to be an issue. Even though his “priorities are clear” and driven by a need to “grow the tax base,” he was reluctant to go into specifics on issues such as Lisa Strange Weatherby accusing his moves as being evidence of a “paranoia-induced purge.”
Likewise, specifics are still “conceptual” on addressing the unfunded liability issue for police and fire pensions. There “may be a solution in Tallahassee,” Curry said to reporters. If that “plan A” doesn’t work out, there will be a “plan B.”
“Always have to have a backup,” Curry said.
What is clear is that Curry is determined, as were his Republican predecessors John Delaney and John Peyton, to an aggressive pursuit of growth.
“Great cities,” Curry said, invest big dollars into priorities like the Shipyards, and “freeing up cash flow” is essential to that.
Those with long institutional memories noted that after his first budget, Brown took a “victory lap,” something that didn’t happen after Brown’s fourth budget, which was a debacle that would exist in history books were there such things about Duval County.
The Curry administration, with this budget, took its first step to correcting the issues of the “last four years” that they often complain about. It will be interesting to see how they progress, establishing a standalone legacy that doesn’t simply exist in opposition to that of the previous administration.
