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A.G. GancarskiJune 12, 2017

Three bills that had been expected to highlight the Tuesday evening agenda of the Jacksonville City Council won’t. The end result: an anticlimactic meeting, mostly because the committee process weeded out three bills that may have been sound policy, but were inconvenient politics – at best. Extra Pension Payment? No Thanks! Councilman Danny Becton had […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 7, 2017

Councilman Danny Becton‘s bill (2017-348) obligating the city of Jacksonville to earmark 15 percent of all budget increases to paying down pension debt until 2031 has not met favor with Mayor Lenny Curry. It did no better in the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee … where it was panned by most members before the bill was “put out […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 7, 2017

A question worth watching: is Jacksonville City Councilman Danny Becton on a collision course with Mayor Lenny Curry? Certainly, there is reason to question whether the first-term Councilor is on the same page with the priorities and agenda of the Mayor. Consider a bill that will be considered in Finance Wednesday morning: Becton’s 2017-348, which […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 5, 2017

Extra payments for Jacksonville’s $2.8B unfunded pension liability? Councilman Danny Becton wants them. But he doesn’t have support in the Mayor’s Office. Despite a pension reform bill becoming law earlier this year, at least one city councilman, who on Monday likened the pension reform package that was the signature legislative achievement of the Lenny Curry Administration to […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 25, 2017

The political career of Jacksonville City Council President-Designate Anna Brosche hasn’t been all that long, but has been characterized by a triumph per year. In 2015, Brosche shocked some observers by defeating the iconoclastic Kim Daniels in the pastor’s re-election bid to the City Council. In 2016, Brosche – a CPA and a managing partner at […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 10, 2017

What happens when the Americans for Disabilities Act meets a Jacksonville zoning overlay? A headache, some litigation, and, eventually, attempts by all parties to arrive at a workable compromise. Emphasis on the word “attempts,” as seemingly everyone outside of the lawyers who reached the compromise found something at which to balk. A bill that would […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 7, 2017

The Rules Committee of the Jacksonville City Council was the second committee in two days to approve expansion of the city’s Human Rights Ordinance. The measure would extend protections in housing, public accommodations, and employment on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. The Rules meeting saw two co-sponsors of the HRO expansion […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 6, 2016

A bill allocating $70,000 t0 Jacksonville City Council members for internal costs on “neighborhood events” had gotten some pushback when introduced by Councilman Reggie Brown earlier this year. However, in the current round of committee hearings, the measure is getting traction. The measure cleared Neighborhoods, Community Investments, and Services on Monday. And on Tuesday, the Rules Committee […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 2, 2016

When Jacksonville City Council President Lori Boyer took the helm this summer, she sought to expand the council’s role as a policymaking body. Primary to that charge were “special committees,” set to immediately follow the regular committee meetings every two weeks. Though some council members have voiced concerns that the special committees present a time burden, committee […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 19, 2016

For a second time this fall, Tuesday’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council’s Land Use and Zoning committee voted in favor of allowing a microbrewery to open in Springfield at 1636 N. Main St. The vote was 4-1 in favor this time, with Doyle Carter the sole opponent. But it took a long, long time to get there. […]

Tag: Danny Becton
Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Image via Visit Florida.

The bills Jacksonville’s City Council won’t consider this week

Jax Council committee downs extra pension payment bill; Lenny Curry wins again

Collision Course for Danny Becton, Lenny Curry?

Jax Councilman wants extra pension payment; Mayor’s Office not sold

Anna Brosche discusses how she won the Jacksonville City Council Presidency

Springfield Overlay zoning change legislation draws scrutiny in public notice meeting

HRO clears second Jacksonville City Council committee

Neighborhood events bill clears second Jacksonville council panel

Jacksonville City Council ‘special committees’ doing well, say chairs

Beer drinkers down Bible thumpers in Jacksonville microbrewery debate