Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 17, 2017

The office of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry believes it is done with pension reform. Yet Council President Anna Brosche and other allies, including the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee, disagree. That conflict set the stage for the latest skirmish related to a bill introduced months back by Councilman Danny Becton. The bill, brought back yet again recently, […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 2, 2017

To those not looking at the Jacksonville City Council budget process closely, the end result Tuesday night was clean and uncontroversial. A unanimous vote for the city’s $1.27 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, one with $131M in capital improvements, and 100 new police positions. However, a closer look at the budget process reveals that — after a summer […]

Peter SchorschSeptember 1, 2017

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This last week in Northeast Florida was somewhat quiet for politics. Federal and state Representatives and Senators are on break. Jacksonville City Council is on its fifth week of a budget negotiation, with a plan all but ready for Council’s vote in September. A year ago, the political scene was pell-mell: Primaries up and down […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 29, 2017

Jacksonville City Councilman Danny Becton ran afoul of Mayor Lenny Curry this summer, by filing a bill (2017-348) that the Mayor’s Office opposed. That bill would require that 15 percent of all general fund money beyond the baseline budget go toward defraying the city’s $3.2B unfunded actuarial liability on pension. Back in June, even as Becton held a […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2017

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee put Sheriff Mike Williams through the wringer during this year’s budget process. They pushed back against budget asks two weeks ago, compelling the Sheriff to return Friday morning, where he spent roughly an hour answering questions related to a poll his political committee ran. Among the items in suspension: 100 […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2017

Friday saw the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee move toward wrapping up budget deliberations. However, there was still some unfinished business with various departments. And the most interesting bit of business was political business — not budgetary. — The big enchilada: the 100 new police officers and other proposals from JSO, which were not approved […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 23, 2017

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry prioritized improving the city’s financial picture as a candidate in 2015, and in 2017 there was strong evidence that happened. The city has strong bond ratings — AA- — and the market’s confidence was reflected in $388 million of offers on $145M worth of bonds this week. Curry noted Wednesday that “demand […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 18, 2017

Friday morning saw the Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee review the Mayor’s proposed capital budgets for JEA. The discussion sprawled close to 90 minutes — double the allotted time — and was one in which budget line items were often directly related to equity in services throughout the city. ____ JEA was up first. The […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 10, 2017

The first day of Jacksonville City Council review of Mayor Lenny Curry‘s proposed budget was highlighted by a deep dive into the Sheriff’s budget: 35 percent of the general fund. Among the highlights of the proposed budget: 100 more cops, which would bring force levels within a few dozen of the peak of 1,800 officers years back. […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 10, 2017

The August ritual began anew Thursday morning in Jacksonville’s City Hall, with the City Council Finance Committee beginning its review of the Mayor’s proposed budget. The day began with a romp through a presentation from the Curry administration, followed by the Council Auditor’s review of the budget. The proposed $1.27B budget is up from the […]

Tag: Danny Becton

Jax Council panel bucks leadership, votes down controversial pension bill

How Lenny Curry won the Jacksonville City Council budget vote

Jacksonville Bold for 9.1.17 — The struggle is real

Controversial Jax pension savings bill makes its return to City Council

After venting about poll, Jax Council panel gives Sheriff 100 new cops

Jax Councilors feel ‘targeted’ by Sheriff’s poll pushing 100 new cops

Lenny Curry: Jacksonville is ‘on good financial ground right now’

Jax City Councilors mull JEA budget, ‘broken promises’ of Consolidation

Jax Councilors hammer Sheriff Mike Williams on policy, procedure

Jax City Council begins mulling Lenny Curry’s budget