A.G. Gancarski
The holiday break is officially over at Jacksonville’s City Council.
The Monday Finance Committee meeting: highlighted by Jax Mayor Lenny Curry introducing his pension unfunded liability payoff plan, ahead of the Legislative Session in Tallahassee this month.
Curry discussed his “proposed solution for funding unfunded pension liabilities,” one he said does not involve a new tax, but an extension of the Better Jacksonville Plan half cent sales tax until 2060 or whenever the pension unfunded liability is paid off.
“Many of you have seen this problem kicked down the road for many years,” Curry said, at the expense of other needs, including “public safety.”
Curry noted that the “investment” in public safety seen in his first budget had to continue, and to “solve this public safety problem,” which includes shootings throughout the community, the unfunded liability has to be resolved.
Describing his administration’s ask as “very simple,” Curry asked the Council to support an extension of the half cent sales tax until 2060, or whenever the unfunded liability is paid off.
This would also involve new hires moving to a “defined contribution” plan, and would not involve a new tax.
“This will not be easy,” Curry said, adding that his administration would leverage relationships in Tallahassee to get this done.
“This is something we can solve if we have the political courage to do it,” Curry added.
John Crescimbeni noted his support for this initiative, asking Curry whether there was anything Council could do to help, and offering to sponsor the bill.
Curry noted it would take a “team effort,” and he would be in Tallahassee when Session opens next week to “make the case.”
In response to another question, Curry noted that “we’ve been talking about this plan for months,” and the timing of the launch of this was designed to “get everybody … on board” and make sure the logistics were right.
Councilman Tommy Hazouri, the PFPF liaison, spoke next, wanting to know whether the money would be bonded.
Curry noted that, at some point with the funding, the unfunded liability would drop.
“We’re spending approximately $200 more million than we would” otherwise, had this issue been resolved.
Curry also noted that he sought a supermajority vote from Council on this. This proposal extends to all employees, including general employees
“We’re asking for a resolution supporting this,” Curry said.
“The entire future of Jacksonville hinges on this,” Curry said, and if unresolved “we’ll get to a point where we can’t even invest in public safety.”
Hazouri noted that the Better Jacksonville Plan legislation, the origination of the sales tax years ago, only extended to capital projects.
Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa noted that BJP legislation allows a change of the plan with the supermajority Curry seeks.
In a news conference after his remarks, Curry reiterated those themes.
“Solving the unfunded liability is the most important [issue] Jacksonville is facing,” Curry said. The proposed “extension of the half-cent sales tax” is a mechanism to address that, one that would “save us a significant amount of money per year.”
“We have to have funds to hire more police and invest in at-risk youth,” Curry said, adding that as Jacksonville constituted a full quarter of Florida’s unfunded liability, that “we are the problem.”
When asked whether the extension of the BJP should be subject to referendum, as the original measure was, Curry was blunt, saying that he and Council were “elected to solve problems.”
And he deemed it an existential crisis.
“The sky really is falling,” Curry said, relative to “crumbling roads” and infrastructural problems and the murder rate.
“We don’t have cash to do” what needs to be done, Curry said, because of the unfunded liability issue. A resolution of this would free up “significant” operating capital.
Curry has talked to Duval Delegation members on an individual basis. The bill in Tallahassee, he said, would be co-sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley and Rep. Travis Cummings.
Both of those men, Curry said, have experience in pension matters.
Curry has also talked to other members of the leadership in Tallahassee, and one might speculate that the statewide outreach of his Build Something That Lasts PAC can only help with such matters.
“This is a game changer for the people of Jacksonville,” Curry added, relative to its effect on Jacksonville’s billion dollar budget.
One thing it would allow: raises, at long last, for police and fire employees.
The half-cent sales tax, under the proposal, would expire when the pension is fully funded, or October 2060 … whichever comes first.
The deal would be subject to collective bargaining.
Council members expressed enthusiasm to media.
Finance Chairman Bill Gulliford said that while there’s a “lot of work to be done,” at “first blush, this certainly is a great option.”
Gulliford estimated that the hit of the pension liability is “$7,000 per person in the community,” and that Jacksonville’s request to Tallahassee, in this case, was a matter of “local control.”
Council President Greg Anderson, meanwhile, observed that it “sounds like the legislature is going to be involved” and that it sounds like “Council is going to be involved.”
With representatives of the Fraternal Order of Police on hand, as well as PFPF Executive Director Beth McCague, the clear desire of the Curry administration and at least most of the power brokers on Council is to present a united front. And certainly, it would be in all parties’ interest to find more money for the obligations.
The question, of course, is one of whether or not the Curry administration can get it through Tallahassee.
Whatever the case, the issue clearly has to be resolved. Between the PFPF, the General Employee Pension Fund, and the Correction Officer Pension fund, total unfunded liability is $2.6 billion. If nothing is done, the administration contends, Jacksonville will have to commit 20 percent of its operating budget toward pensions.
The extension of the half-cent sales tax, the administration contends, will “substantially reduce” Jacksonville’s burden.
The plan is contingent on employees accepting the Defined Contribution condition.
