Peter Schorsch
Almost three decades ago, Tillie Fowler was President of the Jacksonville City Council.
Presidents since have come — and gone — but Lori Boyer, who will be installed Thursday, has the potential to be truly consequential.
FloridaPolitics.com caught up with Boyer in her office Wednesday when she was planning a series of “lunch and learn” events designed to prepare the other 18 Councilmembers. The project included teaching everything from emergency preparation to how to navigate the budget process and move a bill forward.
The idea: to empower everyone on Council — especially the new members — to be able to navigate the process, compressing the learning curve and allowing for more equal and fair representation of city priorities.
“There was a concern among some members of the newly elected class,” Boyer said, that “there was a clique of people in leadership.”
The goal, in that context: demystify that part of the job, and level hierarchies of perception. To that end, she intends to give committee chairmanships to new members, addressing a recurring concern — a lack of continuity, something abetted by term limits, and often impede the realization of a long-term vision.
Boyer has a lot of ambition for the role, and another member of the council, in commenting on her approach, endorsed it, saying “you’ll never hit the ball if you don’t take a swing.”
In this endeavor, Boyer is swinging for the fences, willing to, as she put it, “try a lot of things” and see what works.
One thing is to make “all my chairs new chairs … supported by a vice chair who previously chaired the committee.”
That experienced vice chair will be able to “steer the meeting,” while allowing the new chairs to grow into their roles — much like a rookie quarterback with a veteran backup.
All new chairs were purposefully chosen.
Scott Wilson, helming Neighborhoods, Community Investments and Services — now and forever known as NCIS — was selected because he had helmed Land Use and Zoning well, and also because of his interest into a deep dive into housing issues and census tract disparity.
Boyer brought up the distinction between “intensive care neighborhoods” and “neighborhoods on the tipping point,” noting that a policy consideration will be an allocation of resources between neighborhoods on the brink, versus communities that already fell off the edge.
Al Ferraro takes over Transportation, Energy and Utilities, and was selected because he “really wants to learn and understand” about these subjects. Passionate about his district; Boyer hopes Ferraro will see that the challenges in his area carry over to others — developing a more holistic understanding of city problems.
Sam Newby, an at-large councilman, takes over Public Health and Safety. His role as a Jax Journey liaison from Council gives him insight, and he expressed an interest in this position.
One topic PHS will take up: body cameras for members of the sheriff’s office. Boyer anticipates that question will lead off July’s committee meetings, with detailed discussion informing the budget considerations of that potential line item in August.
Garrett Dennis takes over Rules, where his vice chair will be Council VP-Designate John Crescimbeni.
The two have had an interesting dynamic, with Dennis supporting Crescimbeni’s opponent in the VP race earlier this year, but there is a “mutual interest in working together.”
Dennis is an “independent thinker,” said Boyer, and this high-profile assignment will give him a “real opportunity to understand the process of council rules.”
“Process,” said Boyer, “can and does shape outcomes.”
Danny Becton takes over Land Use and Zoning; Boyer believes he’s grown in his year on Council, moving from being a “concern” for the “development industry” to developing a holistic understanding of the need to balance developer and neighborhood concerns.
Finally, Anna Brosche takes over Finance. The CPA, notes Boyer, has risen to every task assigned to her, and after a “quiet six to eight months” when she came into Council, Brosche has found her voice — and it is a strong one.
Brosche’s role will be pivotal, as she will lead Finance through a budget period that Boyer described as a “flat, hold your own” budget.
Overall, Boyer’s hope is that policy development will not just impact this year, but will be a framework going forward.
Betting against her will be hard. Expect more details Thursday afternoon during her installation speech.
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“$57M potential savings for Jax … if pension tax passes” via Florida Politics – If the tax passes, the plan would ‘result in lower costs for the next 13 years, higher pension costs over time, but will match the period of higher costs to the time when the dedicated revenues exist to cover those payments … the burden of future payments is not as high as they appear when you take into account present value dollars’ … Real benefit would begin in FY 18 according to the latter condition, with $4 million of new money in the budget. By FY 19, that number expands to $57 million of new money, setting off a number of fiscal years with projected savings ranging from $55 million to $68 million. FY 28 to 34 see savings in the $40 to $50 million range. In FY 35, the trend reverses, as the revenue comes in from the pension tax: FY 35 to FY 39 see increased city spending on the liability, ranging from $14 to $31 million. Then the big hit comes: FY 40 and 41 see increased city spending on the plan of $91 and $97 million respectively. Then, $127 million in FY 42, setting off a series of balloon payments that potentially extend from $230 million in FY 43 to $381 million of increased obligation in FY 48.
“Civic Council backs pension tax” via David Bauerlein of the Florida Times-Union – A half-cent sales tax on the Aug. 30 ballot got backing from the Jacksonville Civic Council, an influential group of business executives that has been pushing since 2013 for a fix to the city’s pension woes. If approved by voters, the half-cent sales tax would start after the existing sales tax for the Better Jacksonville Plan expires in 2030. ‘Without ‘Yes for Jacksonville,’ the city’s annual required contribution will continue to increase and the city simply cannot operate with such a large proportion of its budget dedicated to pension costs,’ the Civic Council said in announcing its endorsement.
“Pension tax referendum gets pushback at Arlington town hall” via Florida Politics – Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart … was there ‘to talk all things related to the pension’ … One questioner said ‘there’s got to be a catch’ in terms of extending the term of payment out, but not paying anything … Another questioner framed the initiative as ‘pushing down the road’ the burden of the unfunded pension liability … The cynics continued to speak up, with one woman wondering if pushing the pension tax bill through was ‘what the mayor was doing when he was playing around in Tallahassee’ … questions continued for the chief of staff including: How does money you don’t get until 2030 help in 2017, 2018, and 2019 … Distancing herself further from being tied to the outcome of the vote, Sen. Audrey Gibson said she was ‘not on the ‘selling the tax’ tour,’ adding that her goal was to ‘make sure … the decision rests with you all’ … ‘This idea that tourists will pay it is not exactly the case. The people who live in the community will pay it.’
“Mayor’s thoughts on budget relief from pension reform slowly emerge” via John Burr – Like a ship cutting through a heavy fog, the outlines of Mayor Lenny Curry’s thinking on how the proceeds from an extension of a half-cent sales tax could help the bedraggled city budget are coming into focus. The central question: How can a tax extension which starts in 2030 provide budget relief to the city before then – as in, how can it provide budget relief now. Curry has made a show of how desperate he says the city fiscal situation is, comparing Jacksonville’s fiscal prospects to Detroit if voters don’t approve the the tax extension in the Aug. 30 referendum.
Late last week Curry told a town hall meeting that he doesn’t favor borrowing against the future revenue that will come with the sales tax extension. So that’s out. Even so, an actuarial report set for release this week will show that the city can save $40 million a year by extending its $2.85 billion pension liability paydown over more years, similar to refinancing your home mortgage over a longer period of time. The monthly payments will be less, but the payback time will be longer, and in the end, you pay more to settle the debt.
Curry knows finance, he has made his living as a CPA. We can expect a conservative approach on all issues monetary; given that, it’s likely that $40 million a year in lower pension costs until 2030 is the amount of relief we can expect from the half-cent sales tax extension. Period.
Curry is making good progress raising a $1 million-plus to sell the tax extension plan to voters. The resources to get the message out to voters will be available, but the message needs to be crystal clear on this point. Voters need to be told without ambiguity how the sales tax extension will improve the city’s budget crunch before 2030. And if it won’t, they need to know that, also.
“Councilman: ‘People believe the Florida Times-Union is a racist paper’” via Florida Politics – The big story of the weekend in the Florida Times-Union involved a fillet knife being taken (metaphorically, to be clear) to Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Gaffney … However, the reaction many had, says Gaffney, is one of wondering why the Times-Union is going after him. ‘People believe the Times-Union is a racist paper. That’s what people are saying,’ Gaffney said, estimating that “over 50 people called me, believed it was a witch hunt that [Chris Hong] wrote a story on me. I don’t even know him … Why he has a personal vendetta, I’m not sure. I just pray for him.’
“Rick Scott, Jax leaders talk Zika strategy” via Florida Politics – Scott made two stops to discuss Florida’s approach to Zika. The first was in West Palm Beach in the morning; the second, in Jacksonville in the afternoon, where he talked to local officials, including Mayor Lenny Curry … Scott also pointed out the importance of removing ‘standing water” around houses … discussion revolved around collaborating across departments to mitigate effects. State help will be apportioned by a number of factors, including the size of the county and the amount of travelers in those counties. Regarding microcephaly babies, the goal is going to be ensuring that the mother and baby get the help they need, and ensuring testing for pregnant women who travel to Zika-ridden areas.
“2016: The year of death by Fentanyl in Northeast Florida” via John Burr – Did you know that more than one person a day a dies of a drug overdose in Northeast Florida, many from the synthetic opioid pain killer Fentanyl – the same drug that Prince overdosed on?
Unless you read deep into a recent story in Florida Times-Union, you did not know that. In fact, it’s more than one overdose death one a day. From Jan. 1 through June 24 (176 days), there were 201 fatal drug overdoses in the 5 counties of Northeast Florida, according to Chief Medical Examiner Valerie Rao. Actually the toll is higher because medical examiners were still awaiting toxicology reports on several deaths.
If more than one person a day around here were dying from gunshots, or automobile accidents, or horrible living conditions in public housing projects like Eureka Gardens, the media and the politicians would be up in arms.
There has been some coverage by the Times-Union and broadcast media, but it’s been spotty at best, given how fast the bodies are piling up.
A Florida Times-Union editorial in May stated 49 people died of Fentanyl overdose across Northeast Florida in 2015, exactly the number of overdose deaths caused by the drug in the first four months of 2016. Jacksonville fire and rescue emergency medical technicians administered 708 doses of Narcan to overdose victims in those same four months, preventing hundreds of overdose deaths.
Reports quote public officials blaming the easy availability of fentanyl on the Internet, where the drug – a synthetic narcotic 50 times stronger than heroin – is bought and sold. “You can go on the Internet, buy anything, and have it shipped to you,” one Jacksonville toxicologist told the Times-Union.
That’s a good place to start a crackdown. No one should be able to buy and sell narcotics over the Internet. Even in this age of fractured politics, that’s a position all can agree on.
“Push for civilian review boards” via David Chapman of the Jax Daily Record – The Rev. R.L Gundy of Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church stood before City Council this month, a list of demands in his hand, a row of fellow African-American men at his back … there to make a statement about the state of affairs involving the black community and police … At the top of Gundy’s list was a common request: The creation of a civilian review board, a way for independent oversight into police-involved disputes … Council member Katrina Brown responded by saying she’d done research on the issue … she committed to Gundy and others she would submit legislation to pursue a citizen-review board … Brown said the issue is something she’s wanted to address while in office, but the budget and talks to expand the human rights ordinance and extend a half-cent sales tax to pay down pension debt all took priority.
“Remember the Maine! City money goes toward Spanish-American fort purchase” via Steve Patterson of the Florida Times-Union – Legislation funding part of the North Florida Land Trust’s campaign to buy an Arlington fort built for the Spanish-American War [was] filed at Jacksonville’s City Council … $162,500 from city land-acquisition accounts to help the trust reach the $400,000 price it contracted to spend last year to get the riverfront site from a real estate investor … The contribution the bill seeks represents half of the 3-acre site’s appraised value … the trust would still need about $78,500 to buy the land, which is along Fort Caroline Road near the National Park Service’s Ribault monument. The nonprofit trust plans to deed the land to the Park Service to maintain as part of its Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
“Jacksonville a miserable city for lawn mowing” via Bill Bortzfield of the Florida Times-Union — Lawnstarter.com has come up with a list of the 14 worst places to mow the lawn in the country and Jacksonville was ranked number 10. The website looked at the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas and four specific factors: skin cancer risk, air quality, average daily humidity and average annual precipitation … Birmingham, Alabama, was ranked as the worst in the country and Tampa-St. Petersburg was ranked No. 2.
“Former prosecutor drops the dime on Angela Corey soliciting donations at work” via Larry Hannan of the Florida Times-Union – Employees of State Attorney Corey repeatedly were pressured to campaign for her re-election during work hours and to donate money to her campaign, says a former prosecutor who resigned last month after filing a complaint to a state agency … Doug Dorseyresigned May 9 after being a prosecutor for 16 years. In his resignation letter, he said he’s filed a complaint with the Office of the Florida Inspectors General that has ‘arisen the ire of a director in the office, and likely others as well’ … In a May 6 email to Patricia Dodson, the managing director of the State Attorney’s Office, Dorsey complains there has been ‘significant politicking’ for Corey’s re-election on work time in the state attorney’s building. He says he was told to go out and start collecting petitions for Corey’s re-election and that he was also called to a mandatory meeting where his supervisors told him that the division chiefs in the office needed to get more involved in Corey’s campaign, especially her upcoming fundraisers.
Save the dates – State Sen. Aaron Bean will tour the facilities at Cecil Airport Wednesday, July 6, beginning 2:30 p.m., at 13365 Simpson Way in Jacksonville. Bean is expected to visit LSI’s facilities and speak to its employees and management. Thursday, July 7, Bean will also participate in the Florida Coalition for Children Convention’s Legislative Panel to update the Coalition on the 2016 Legislative Session. Event begins 10 a.m. at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, 1500 Masters Boulevard in Four Corners. Thursday, July 14, Bean will speak to the Society for Human Resources Management on an update on the 2016 Legislative Session. Event begins 12 p.m. at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 10367 Midtown Parkway in Jacksonville.
At forum, HD 12 Republicans agree to agree” via Florida Politics – Four of the five Republicans in the primary race in House District 12 — Terrance Freeman, Mark MacLean, Stan Jordan, and Clay Yarborough — were on hand at a forum at the University of North Florida Tuesday evening. The fifth, Don Redman, broke his arm in an accident recently, and under medication, was not to attend. The debate began as a low-key affair, and in terms of policy differences, there weren’t many at all. Tone varied from the retro folksiness of Jordan to the lawyerly, meditative tone of MacLean. The opening statements from the four candidates seemed like they might have been under medication themselves … and it didn’t get better from there.
“Leslie Jean-Bart backed by AFL-CIO in HD 14 race” via Jean-Bart campaign – “We are pleased to announce that Leslie Jean-Bart has received the endorsement of the North Florida AFL-CIO/CLC for her dedication to working families in Northeast Florida. Leslie will continue the fight to bring economically stable jobs to our communities, in order to improve the quality of life for all.”
Save the dates – “Politics in St. Johns,” a citizen forum for meeting candidates running for public office, which include Federal, state, county, special districts and municipalities, will be held Wednesday, July 27, at 6 p.m. (targeted to Ponte Vedra overlay candidates and citizens) and Thursday, Aug. 4, at 6 p.m. (targeted to all St. Johns County overlay candidates and citizens). The 7/27 event will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 45 PGA Tour Boulevard and Ponte Vedra Beach. The 8/4 event is at the YMCA Solomon Calhoun Community Center, 1300 Duval Street in St. Augustine. Free to citizen attendees from any county. Registration is required. Candidates must register in advance and pay table fee of $150 for St. Augustine, $75 for Ponte Vedra or $225 for both events. Register at http://asoft8232.accrisoft.
“Reefer sadness: Anchor sorry for pantomiming smoking a joint” via Clay Zeigler of the Florida Times-Union — Action News Jax anchor John Bachman took to television and Twitter to repeatedly apologize for his caught-on-camera clowning during a colleague’s story about a man arrested for punching a swan. The broadcast included Bachman – index finger to thumb and lips pursed – mischievously demonstrating his theory that the man arrested may have been smoking marijuana. Bachman, who immediately realized his off-camera move was on camera, immediately apologized.
“Boardroom named in honor of former hospital leader ‘Mac’ McGriff” via the University of Florida Health – William A. “Mac” McGriff III, former chief executive officer of what was then University Medical Center, was surrounded by family, longtime friends and former colleagues June 14 on the fourth floor of the Learning Resource Center on campus – where the Shands Boardroom has been renamed the W.A. “Mac” McGriff III Boardroom. “Mac has been selected for this naming opportunity because of his role as a trusted adviser and supporter of many important initiatives – dedicating so much of his time and resources to the work we do,” UF Health Jacksonville CEO Russ Armistead said. Before the hospital’s affiliation with the University of Florida, McGriff served as a volunteer board member of University Medical Center Jacksonville. He was later named vice chair and then became chair. In 1999, he became interim CEO of the hospital, serving in that position for three years. McGriff was instrumental in forming the relationship between University Medical Center and Shands Healthcare, helping build what is now UF Health Jacksonville.
“St. Augustine to be active place in what is expected to be busiest July 4 travel weekend” via Stuart Korfhage of the Florida Times-Union – With AAA calling for the busiest July Fourth weekend for travel ever seen in this country, it’s a guarantee many thousands of those travelers are going to make the St. Augustine area their destination. It’s nothing new for St. Augustine to see crowded beaches and downtown streets during the holiday weekend, and the massive fireworks show on the bayfront is a tremendous draw … an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people come downtown each year for the fireworks show … AAA said … 43 million Americans will travel over the holiday weekend. That would be the highest Independence Day travel volume on record and a half-million more travelers than last year. AAA defines the holiday travel period as Thursday to Monday. For Florida, AAA is estimating a little more than 2.1 million visitors for an increase of about 2 percent over 2015. Overall, St. Johns County enjoyed a record year for tourism in 2015, according to the local visitors and convention bureau, with about 6.3 million visitors. All indications point to another solid year this year, and a big Fourth of July could go a long way toward making this year another record setter.
“Green veterans in Jacksonville: learning sustainable existence” via Beth Reese Cravey of the Florida Times-Union – The contingent of U.S. Green Building Council members at the almost 40-year-old Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1689 in Jacksonville … were kicking off the North Florida chapter of Green Veterans, which trains veterans for jobs in the sustainability, or “green,” construction sector, helps them reintegrate into civilian life and conducts veterans service projects, such as the VFW energy upgrade. The volunteer-based initiative will provide new career opportunities and establish a “new tribe” for veterans who are used to the organization of the military, as well as serving others, said director and co-founder Adel Travieso. “Veterans should be in green space. … We can own this space,” said Travieso, who is also project manager with veteran-owned solar energy company Venergy in Fort Pierce. “We are already trained to serve. We don’t mind being outside. … We have the discipline.” The VFW work was one of three community service projects council members undertook in Jacksonville last week during their annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. The event explored “trends of green markets as well as sustainable solutions and environmental leadership to drive the green building movement forward,” according to the council.
“Olympics on display at World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum” via Garry Smits of the St. Augustine Record – The World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum not only has on display a priceless piece of golf history, but of Olympic history. And it wasn’t easy to obtain. “Road to Rio: Golf’s Return to the Olympics” opened this week, honoring the upcoming golf competition in the Rio de Janeiro Games. The last time golf was an Olympic sport was in 1904 at the Glen Echo Golf Club in St. Louis. On hand for the grand opening of the exhibit was World Golf Hall of Fame member Amy Alcott, a five-time LPGA major champion who was the co-designer, along with Gil Hanse, of the Olympic Golf Course. Despite fears of the Zika virus and a crowded men’s professional golf schedule that has caused players such as Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh and Graeme McDowell to opt out of playing in Rio, Alcott is confident of strong competition on a course of which she is taking great pride.
