Jacksonville Bold for 3.12.25: That DOGE won’t hunt

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Is Jacksonville City Council member Ron Salem’s push for “Duval DOGE” driven by his desire to be Mayor in 2027?

That’s what Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan thinks.

In recent comments to Jacksonville Today, the Mayor wondered why Salem took half a decade to start caring about fiscal efficiency.

“I’m happy, after five years on the Council, the (Council member) has determined that this is an important issue to him,” Deegan said. “You have to sort of wonder whether the timing is more political or practical. But that is for you all to determine.”

The Mayor has a point. Salem voted yes on General Fund budgets that increased spending by more than 37% over five years. Under Deegan’s watch, the city committed to the Jaguars stadium, police and fire raises, and pension changes. But under Mayor Lenny Curry, the budget also went up — aided and abetted by pandemic subsidies from the federal level.

Budget cuts on the local level come out of necessity. Just ask former Mayor Alvin Brown. He was left holding the bag for the 2008 economic crash, and millage collections didn’t recover during his one term in office.

Such cuts may be necessary sooner or later. Outyear budget proposals say the city could be in a $105 million hole by 2028.

Unfortunately, little can be cut. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office budget is approaching $700 million, and there is no appetite for reducing it or even auditing spending.

The city is in a $5 billion pension hole, and with equity markets struggling in the Donald Trump era, the General Fund will have to spend more to cover that shortfall. When municipal watchdog group Truth in Accounting gave the city a D rating for fiscal mismanagement, it wasn’t short for DUUUUUU-val.

So, what does Salem’s Duval DOGE push ultimately mean? Sound and fury, signifying nothing? Some cuts around the edges?

And what’s the end game? Does he get to run a Bill Bishop-style campaign against the incumbent in 2027? Because the reality is this: if Deegan is vulnerable, his fellow Republicans won’t allow Salem to be the only challenger.

And we don’t know if the Mayor is vulnerable or not.

Meanwhile, Deegan is making news of her own.

During her Tuesday appearance on First Coast Connect, she said she was “disconcerted” by “performative” proposals in Tallahassee that would eliminate municipal DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts.

“I certainly don’t understand the need for this legislation.”

Sen. Clay Yarborough’s SB 420 and Rep. Dean Black’s HB 1571 aim to block local governments from passing DEI initiatives and to make ones already in law illegal. The bills also create a cause for citizens to bring civil suits against local government if they feel discriminated against by DEI laws.

The bills are similar in language and process. As of this writing, neither has been put on a committee agenda.

Deegan is particularly troubled by the bill’s “retroactive” language, which suggests that people who voted for DEI bills even before the legislation was passed could be subject to civil suits from people who say they are impacted.

“I don’t even know at this point whether that is legislation that is constitutional,” Deegan said Tuesday.

Yarborough and Black explained the purpose of the bills when filing them nearly two weeks ago.

Yarborough said they targeted “ideological agendas that the government should not be imposing upon its people.

Black says the proposals will “once and for all Destroy Ideological Extremism in local government … and ensure that Florida is where DEI goes to D.I.E.!”

Insurer exits

Meanwhile, there may be more significant problems than DEI.

As The Times-Union’s David Bauerlein reported, Citizens Property Insurance is leaving its downtown headquarters next year. It will relocate to the Baymeadows area of Jacksonville.

And doing so will raise another existential question about Downtown’s viability, with 1,000 employees making the trek.

Safety concerns posed by the homeless population were a leitmotif in recent news coverage.

State legislation was intended to give localities more authority in dealing with the problem. According to one City Council member, Jacksonville deployed Jacksonville Fire and Rescue employees to address the issue, with the Sheriff’s Office not wanting to deal with homelessness.

Could they have done more?

The proof is in the pudding.

What the city did was too little, too late for this major employer.

And the de-vitalization of Downtown continues.

The Deegan administration says there’s hope. It plans to increase the JSO’s presence Downtown and in the building, as the company plans to leave next year.

She said: “Citizens Insurance still has a window to remain Downtown.”

Ultimately, though, Citizens is a canary in the coal mine.

Retaining their presence would be a pyrrhic victory if the conditions that drove them out aren’t fixed.

Cop killer crackdown

Cheers to two Northeast Florida legislators pushing tough penalties for cop killers to become law.

Sen. Tom Leek and Rep. Jessica Baker are carrying the Senate and House versions of the Jason Rayner Act (SB 234, HB 175) to honor the memory of a Daytona officer killed in 2023.

Rayner’s killer, Othal Wallace, was convicted of manslaughter, even though he provoked the fatal confrontation and resisted arrest.

This bill looks to stop such lenient sentences going forward.

If passed, the legislation would add manslaughter to the list of crimes — including first- and second-degree murder and attempted murder — against a police officer for which the mandatory minimum sentence is life imprisonment without parole.

It would also eliminate statutory language to clarify that a person cannot resist an officer with violence or the threat of violence when the officer is performing his or her official duties.

That change is necessary, Baker said, because “jurors can get confused” when interpreting the relevant statutes as they’re currently listed, and defendants have used that confusion to their advantage.

“What we’re doing with this bill is we’re removing the confusing language, and we’re replacing it with language that the court has held it to mean in more laymen’s terms,” she said when explaining her bill Thursday to the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Leek, a lawyer, offered a similar explanation to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice members the day before.

“This legislation puts the determination of who was at fault during a police interaction where it belongs: fully in the hands of the court,” he said.

Each bill is now one stop from a floor vote, meaning that this could be an early season victory for law enforcement and the legislators who reliably champion their cause.

Bad teacher, good bill

Sen. Clay Yarborough’s proposal for new requirements on teachers accused of crimes and the school districts that hire them fulfills a promise made last year.

SB 1374 would impose reporting requirements and mandate the removal of teachers accused of various crimes detailed in Florida Statutes, including grooming behaviors.

Teachers and administrators must self-report the accusations within 48 hours of arrest and report convictions and rulings for offenses except a minor traffic violation within the same timeframe.

Districts must remove the teachers from classrooms within 24 hours of the notification.

Yarborough was inspired to file this bill after a series of incidents in his native Jacksonville. Several Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teachers flouted laws and community standards.

In a letter last year to Acting Superintendent Dana Krisnar, the School Board and Jacksonville General Counsel Michael Fackler, he expressed “serious concerns about the immediate safety” of students at Douglas Anderson in the wake of an arrest of a teacher over a “sexual incident” covered in the local press.

“The fact that the district was aware of this and allowed the teacher to remain in direct proximity with students and chose not to inform parents until last week is beyond comprehension,” Yarborough wrote.

This legislative proposal attempts to get state guardrails on a situation neglected by locals.

The bill notes that “self-report is not considered an admission of guilt and is not admissible for any purpose in any proceeding, civil or criminal, administrative or judicial, investigatory or adjudicatory.” So, it’s not a presumption of guilt, but it’s a recognition of the gravity of the charges.

Yarborough’s bill must pass three Committees before a full Senate hearing. Similar legislation has been filed in the House.

Clean hands

Could this be the year for a major Sen. Jennifer Bradley priority?

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice voted unanimously for SB 130, which would repeal a unique Florida law that prevents some exonerees from receiving recompense.

The bill has one more Committee stop before reaching a floor vote, and its House twin (HB 59) has two more stops.

If passed, the legislation would make several notable changes to existing state law, including extending the time an exoneree must file for compensation from 90 days of an order vacating their conviction to two years.

Most notably, it would delete part of Florida Statute 961.04 that denies payment to exonerees with more than one nonviolent felony. Florida is the only state in the nation with that restriction, known commonly as the “clean hands” rule.

The bill got through Committees in previous years but did not get a floor vote.

Insurance reassurance

Tracie Davis, the Senate Democrats’ Leader Designate, is getting her proposal to shorten the time insurers have to remedy alleged overpayment issues through the process.

On Monday, the Banking and Insurance Committee unanimously advanced Jacksonville Senator SB 944.

Davis’ bill would shorten the look-back period from 30 months to 12 months after the claim is paid, which could make insurance networks more attractive to psychologists.

She noted that in 2008, other providers benefited from a shortened review period, but psychologists were left out. Her bill is intended to “correct that oversight” and “put all health care providers on the same page.”

A representative of the Florida Psychological Association backs the bill, which moves on next to Health Policy and Rules.

The House companion bill has three committee stops ahead.

If this bill becomes law, it will take effect in July.

Capital ideas

Deegan’s Budget Review Committee proposes roughly $8 million in new capital spending.

And a big chunk of that is slotted toward an esports arena at the University of North Florida.

The $3 million “facility will allow UNF to attract more students to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); host national competitions that bring visitors and economic development to Jacksonville; boost the university’s enrollment; and contribute to the city’s efforts to develop a highly skilled workforce prepared for industries of the future,” per the Mayor’s Office.

But it’s not all fun and games.

The Mayor’s Office also wants to commit $4 million to renovating Fire Stations 45 and 54. The former needs to be upgraded to today’s standards, and the latter needs to accommodate a tanker.

Additionally, they want to build a $692,823 personal protective equipment (PPE) wash facility at 2610 Fairfax Street.

“The fire station renovations and wash facility will ensure our firefighters have the resources needed to continue keeping citizens safe and insurance rates down. UNF’s esports arena will help us build a next-generation workforce and position Jacksonville as a leader in the fastest-growing sports genre nationally and globally,” Deegan said.

Tourism boom

Vacationing in Jacksonville?

You’re not alone.

A report released by Visit Jacksonville Thursday claims that many people are visiting the Northeast Florida city … and spending a lot of money.

According to a report by Downs and St. Germain Research, more than 8,000,000 visitors had an economic impact of more than $7.4 billion from October 2023 to September 2024.

Direct spending accounted for most of that sum, with visitors spending $4.1 million on eating out, doing things, renting cars, etc.

Hotels stayed busy also.

Nearly 5,000,000 rooms were sold, driving a $31.5 million bed tax. This money was used to restore local infrastructure that targeted visitors, including stadiums, arenas and performance art spaces.

Many visitors are from in-state, with three of the top five slots filled by people originating in Orlando, traveling from Tampa or residing in St. Petersburg.

However, New York City and Atlanta made up the other two, suggesting that Jacksonville is a draw from major cities outside of the state.

And here’s the best news: four out of five visitors expect to return to town. That’s good news, given that each visitor saves locals an estimated $540 in taxes.

Advertising attracts roughly a quarter of visitors, but twice as many come to see family and friends.

Wild blue yonder

TEDx Jacksonville promises an intriguing lecture at its Salon event, marking Women’s History Month.

U.S. Col. Eries Mentzer will speak at the event on March 27. Mentzer rose to become the first African American woman to command Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

“Eries’s three-decade career is a story of resilience, historic firsts, and a deep commitment to honoring those whose courage paves the way for future generations. Her insights into modern efforts to shape an equitable armed forces will challenge and inspire you, whether you’re passionate about leadership, democracy or the power of service,” a news release said.

Her appearance will include conversations with those attending the TEDx event at the Jessie Ball duPont Center at 40 E. Adams St. in downtown Jacksonville. Tickets are $15 each, and the event begins with registration at 5:30 p.m.; Mentzer will begin her discussion at 6 p.m. Organizers said attendance is limited and advised those wanting to attend to get tickets early.

Round trip

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is going back to the future in its leadership.

Andrew D. Rodgers has returned to the transportation agency in a top role. He was hired this week as JTA’s vice president and chief Infrastructure officer. Rodgers was previously in charge of designing and constructing the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center, which houses JTA operations and serves as a hub in downtown Jacksonville.

JTA CEO Nat Ford welcomed Rodgers back to the agency.

“I look forward to working with him, once again, and I am confident that the JTA and our entire region will benefit from his deep knowledge and experience here in Northeast Florida and throughout the Southeast,” Ford said.

Rogers has two decades of experience in the transportation industry and served JTA as assistant vice president of construction and engineering until December 2021.

Scenic route

The nonprofit organization promoting Jacksonville’s natural and building aesthetic is adding more members to its Board of Directors.

Scenic Jacksonville appointed six new members to the Board who will serve on the panel for the next two years. The six new directors were selected for their commitment to advocacy and civic leadership in Jacksonville while positively impacting residents.

The new Board members for Scenic Jacksonville include Ellen Cottrill, co-owner of Avant Construction Group.

Also joining the Board:

Gayandrial “Ivy” Henderson is the Housing & Real Estate Development Director at LIFT Jax and a landscape architect.

John Alters is the business development manager for Carlton Construction and a native of Jacksonville.

Max Spann is new to Jacksonville, but his appointment comes as a planner for Halff Associates and a landscape architect.

Susan Grandin is an attorney and landscape architect.

Tyler Grant is an attorney in Jacksonville.

JEA OK’s A.J.

JEA, Jacksonville’s publicly owned utility, has a new treasurer and the agency is promoting from within.

Alberto J. “A.J.” Souto was formally named JEA Treasurer this week. Souto’s been with the utility for more than two years and previously served as manager of debt capital markets for about the past year.

Souto oversees JEA’s financial portfolios, which include $845 million in investments and about $3.3 billion in debt.

Before his service at JEA, Souto had a long history of municipal service in Jacksonville, including about a dozen years as the Assistant Chief Financial Officer for Jacksonville Beach and several other positions within the city.

Souto is also a certified treasury professional and certified government financial officer. He earned his master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s in political science from the University of North Florida.

Cookie time!

More than 200 Girl Scouts from across the state traveled to Tallahassee on Tuesday for Girl Scouts Day at the Capitol, led by the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council. Festivities included meetings with legislators, tours of the House and Senate Chambers, an archery booth, a pinning ceremony and lots of cookies.

Among those at the pinning ceremony were Sens. Mack Bernard, Colleen Burton, Alexis Calatayud, Tracie Davis and Jason Pizzo; Reps. LaVon Bracy Davis, Dianne Hart and Yvonne Hinson; and DBPR Secretary Melanie Griffin.

Roster churn

The Jaguars jumped headlong into free agency this week, and while they added nine new players in the first hours of the “legal tampering” period, none were household names.

Even longtime NFL fans had to research most of the names new General Manager James Gladstone signed this week. Here’s a closer look at the newest Jaguars.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis (three-year contract): Lewis comes to the Jaguars from the Dallas Cowboys. He is most comfortable playing in the slot, where rookie Jarrian Jones played most of last season. The New Jaguars’ defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile must determine if Jones or Lewis can handle playing outside corner opposite Tyson Campbell.

Quarterback Nick Mullens (two-year deal): The Jaguars get a backup to Trevor Lawrence, who has a history with new offensive coordinator Grant Udinksi. The two worked together with the Minnesota Vikings. Mullens is a former starter in the NFL. He started 16 games with the San Francisco 49ers, one with the Cleveland Browns and three with the Vikings. He has not won a start since 2020.

Safety Eric Murray (three-year deal) — Safety was a position group that struggled in 2024. Andre Cisco and Antonio Johnson both had issues and Murray figures to become an immediate starter. The former Houston Texan is 31, so the position’s future will need to be addressed, likely in the draft.

Guard Patrick Mekari (three-year, $37.5 million contract with over $20 million guaranteed): Mekari will likely move into the starting lineup at right guard, replacing the departed Brandon Scherff. He allowed only one sack last year with the Baltimore Ravens, a performance the Jaguars hope he can continue protecting Lawrence.

Center Robert Hainsey (three-year, $21 million deal with $13 million guaranteed): Like Mekari, Hainsey comes into a situation where the Jaguars have a gaping hole. Mitch Morse’s retirement meant Jacksonville had to find a starting center. Head coach Liam Coen has been familiar with Hainsey since their time in Tampa.

Wide receiver Dyami Brown (one-year, $10 million deal with a max value of $12 million): Gone are Christian Kirk and Gabe Davis, so the Jaguars needed someone who could fill the role opposite Brian Thomas Jr. Will Brown fill the role, or will it fall to Parker Washington? In any case, Brown figures to be on the field a fair amount. Wide receiver is a position the Jaguars could address in the draft as well.

Tight end Hunter Long (two-year deal): With Evan Engram and Luke Farrell gone, the Jaguars added a pair of wide receivers. Long is more of a blocker than a pass catcher (only eight receptions in four years). Brenton Strange returns and is likely the primary pass-catching tight end.

Tight end Jonny Mundt (two-year deal): Mundt can also contribute to the passing game. He has time with Udinksi in Minnesota as well.

Tackle Chuma Edoga (two-year deal): Edoga will likely be the team’s utility lineman. He can play both tackle positions as well as guard.

The Jaguars likely signed three starters in Murray, Mekari and Hainsey, and Brown and Lewis could also play key roles and potentially start. This wasn’t a splashy free agency period for the Jaguars, but it did replace some rank-and-file players who occupied the Jacksonville roster over the past several seasons.