A.G. Gancarski
At the end of the Jacksonville City Council meeting on Tuesday night, Councilman Bill Gulliford pressed for executive branch cooperation on getting PFPF reform, which would start with getting a new director in place and putting the controversial tenure of former director and current consultant John Keane into the history books and out of the present tense.
“The administration supports anything that would move Police and Fire into a new process,” said Ali Korman Shelton, on hand from the Lenny Curry administration.
Meanwhile, Gulliford, echoing comments he’d made from the agenda meeting, wanted immediate action to, as he said after the meeting, “encourage the administration to make this a stronger priority,” specifically related to moving forward on getting a new director for the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
Gulliford noted in the agenda meeting on Tuesday afternoon that ten applicants had submitted applications since the forensic audit hit the news, with three of them especially appealing to him.
“I’d like to see something more than just a little verbal reinforcement,” Gulliford said, asking to hear something tomorrow, and seeming to want it in writing.
“We have a serious issue here,” Gulliford said, and “I just want to make sure there’s some action taken and that we’re moving forward.”
“I want to see us get this thing going,” Gulliford added.
Councilman Tommy Hazouri, PFPF liaison from Council, said that “it’s my expectation that they’re seriously looking,” and that John Keane is going to make “one last pitch” to Lynn Wengeur, an applicant who had been selected but backed out in the wake of the forensic audit.
After the meeting, FloridaPolitics.com talked to the veteran politicos, each of whom had different takes on the posture of the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
Clearly wearying of the machinations of the Fund, Gulliford laid it out plain.
“How long must this go on?”
Gulliford, in the light of Wenguer’s seeming reluctance to take the job, wanted the search for a new director to continue moving forward.
When asked about the comments of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on the forensic audit, which boiled down to wanting more “transparency” and less “mystery” related to the fund, Gulliford echoed his previous resolute advocacy of the audit, citing “excessive fees” and “unnecessary expenses” incurred by the fund over the years.
Meanwhile, Hazouri had a different take.
“Being liaison,” Hazouri said, “I’ve stayed on top of this, and I sense from them that they want to get [the Keane era] behind them.”
“They want to get beyond John,” Hazouri added.
The timeframe for the previously agreed hire of Wenguer was February, yet Gulliford clearly would like someone in place sooner if practicable.
Hazouri isn’t so sure that can happen.
“I don’t know if anybody would take it before February,” he said, with the holidays intervening, and all that goes with such obligations for people with families.
Hazouri was also somewhat surprised by Gulliford having such primary knowledge of the prospective applicants, given that when he asked PFPF if any applications had been received, they were unaware of them.
While Hazouri says that “we’re all concerned” about the PFPF situation, he has some issues with Gulliford’s procedure in this arena.
“He doesn’t fill you in,” Hazouri said, regarding Gulliford’s moves on this front. “It’s just like the press conference” that he called to introduce the audit to the media, which happened before all council members had a chance to see or be briefed on the audit.
“It started with the press conference, and each time there’s something new, it adds fuel to the fire,” Hazouri said.
Hazouri ultimately is optimistic that Wenguer could take the position after all. The PFPF is slated to make a pitch to her on Thursday, and she has family ties in Jacksonville, which could factor into the decision.
This story promises to develop in the weeks ahead.
