Jax pension tax referendum slated for August

The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville’s pension tax referendum will be slated for an August vote.

“This is a financial crisis and we need to get certainty on solving the unfunded pension liability,” Mayor Lenny Curry told Nate Monroe. “The earliest date we can go is August.”

In the meantime, Monroe reports, an austere budget awaits Jacksonville Council members,

“The budget that I will present this summer is going to be a very tight budget, a very austere budget because of the uncertainty of pension costs,” Curry said.

Curry has been meeting with Council members this week to prepare them for the budget… and presumably, to help sell this pension tax to voters.

Some commentators have raised concerns about the timing, saying that especially on the GOP side of the August primary, conservative Republicans will be tax-averse.

However, Curry’s political team has confidence in its internal polling, especially regarding Curry’s personal favorability and name ID, and they believe the sale can be made.

Obviously, there is much more to come on this story.