Donna Deegan rolls out biggest budget in Jacksonville history

Jacksonville is growing, and so is its General Fund budget under new Mayor Donna Deegan.

The proposed $1.7 billion budget is the biggest in city history (almost 10% more than the final Lenny Curry budget), offering a first look at the new Mayor’s priorities.

“This budget reflects the priorities of the people. It invests their money in ways that will create more opportunities to live, earn, learn and love with a good quality of life. It is intentional. It keeps the promises of the past and builds a city of the future. A city that works for all of us and where our children will choose to stay and raise their own families,” Deegan said.

While some details were known heading into Monday’s remarks — including a more than $400 million Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2023-24 with more than $200 million for drainage and roads and $31 million for fire station upgrades and construction — Deegan’s presentation was the first time she introduced the whole budget to the Council.

Council President Ron Salem called Monday a “monumental day.” While that may have been an overstatement, the Deegan budget finds the city in a stronger fiscal posture than eight years ago when Curry launched his first budget.

Deegan joked that 40 years ago she “got into broadcasting” because she was “told there would be no math.” But math was the subject of the day, along with an aspirational and long-range vision.

“We owe it to our citizens to rise above the cynicism that undermines aspirations,” Deegan said, stressing a unity message and one of “generational opportunity.”

“The budget I am presenting today makes generational investments of $1.752 billion from the General Fund in addition to nearly $406 million from the Capital Improvement Plan,” Deegan said.

The CIP includes $64 million in Pay Go funds, which means the money is paid for with money on hand rather than borrowed.

It privileges “shovel-ready” projects, and maintains the city’s healthy debt ratio and “strong” fiscal outlook, with more than $103 million in emergency reserves in the proposed budget.

The budget is bolstered by $1.03 billion in ad valorem taxes, a $135 million raise, or 15% bump, from the previous year. That revenue surge will allow for the hiring of 235 more full-time employees across various departments.

The Mayor stressed infrastructure as a priority, including roads and sidewalks and bulkheads, as well as septic tank removal.

“When we take care of our public infrastructure, more companies will want to move here. It means we are also making good on the broken promises of consolidation,” Deegan said.

Road and sidewalk spending is well above the previous year’s level, Deegan noted.

Also increasing: the city’s $21.7 million “mowing budget,” up 95% from the previous budget, which will increase “trimming, edging, and litter pickup,” and increase the “mowing cycle” in parks.

Deegan turned to septic tanks next, noting that $17.5 million will be devoted this year to removing older “high-priority” septic tanks.

Flooding and “rising” seawater levels are addressed with $10 million for resiliency infrastructure, drawing on the heat map studies begun under the previous Mayor. Additionally, $12 million will be allocated toward drainage systems and stormwater maintenance.

An additional $1.5 million will be slotted to tree maintenance, with more than $20 million in currently unallocated funds going toward tree replacement from the trust fund.

“We should not have neighborhoods that are 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the rest of the city on hot summer days,” the Mayor said, calling trees “infrastructure.”

“Riverfront parks and trails” are also envisioned as an attraction for a “thriving downtown,” with money going toward the Liberty Street Marina, Shipyards West Park, the Northbank and Southbank Riverwalk extension, two new docks, and the Emerald Trail.

“I cannot wait to see folks walking, running and biking on the Emerald Trail,” Deegan said.

Pools will see an additional $505,000 for maintenance and $4.5 million to complete the First Coast High School pool.

Parks will get $8.5 million in upgrades in this budget, a boon for the “largest urban park system in the United States.” Deegan would like for it to be the “greatest” as well.

The Prime Osborn, the Ritz Theater and the Baseball Grounds will also get renovation and upgrade funds in this budget.

Additionally, University of Florida Health will get $40 million in operational funds, along with $25 million for capital needs.

Public safety is also addressed, with Deegan saying there is $7.8 million available for 40 uniformed officers and 18 non-uniformed positions. Also, 66 new vehicles will be added to the motor pool, along with $31 million for new fire stations, and raises for both police and fire.

Literacy efforts are also a priority. Deegan noted that 70% of people in the Duval County Jail read at or below a fourth-grade level, with the Kids Hope Alliance serving as a springboard for a rebooted Jacksonville Journey with a focus on literacy.

Additionally, the solid waste fund is slated to see more than $8 million in new money over the current fiscal year, and is proposed to have more than $25 million in allocations in the new fiscal year.

The Mayor’s rollout of the budget, much of which was formulated by the previous administration and Council given the short time between inauguration and budget proposal, is just one of many steps before ultimate ratification of a spending plan by the City Council.

In August, the Finance Committee reviews the entire budget. It is a supermajority Republican committee reflecting the larger City Council’s composition, and changes are inevitable. The City Council will hold two public hearings on the product from there, before ratifying and potentially making further changes to the final budget, which must be in effect before the Oct. 1 beginning of the fiscal year.

Deegan noted, regarding Council President Ron Salem, that they had “synergistic visions with where we want things to go on a number of fronts,” adding that she believes “good relationships” with Council are the key to moving forward.

She hopes those relationships extend to Council granting Neighborhoods chief Al Ferraro a waiver, despite his lack of a college degree, saying she’s “excited to see what he’s going to do” in that role should Council allow him to serve.

Despite the party divide with Gov. Ron DeSantis, the new Democratic Mayor isn’t seeking confrontation with Tallahassee and wants a “good relationship” with the state’s chief executive.

“Something things get elevated to a place where, because of rhetoric that is thrown around, it gets more difficult to work together with people,” Deegan said.