Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2017

As the midnight hour approached Tuesday in Jacksonville, its City Council heard public comment — and much of that comment centered on a Councilor. Councilwoman Katrina Brown ran afoul of the head of the local Fraternal Order of Police, Steve Zona, after accusing officers of “racial profiling” during a stop of yet another Councilman, Reggie Gaffney. Brown pulled […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 23, 2017

Just days before the Jacksonville City Council is set to approve a budget giving the city 100 new police officers, two Councilors are in the news for an altercation with current cops. As WJXT first reported, Councilman Reggie Gaffney was pulled over Monday night for driving with a tag that he’d reported stolen a year before. Gaffney […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 24, 2017

This is a pivotal time in Jacksonville’s city hall. With complete turnover in the city’s delegation to Washington and opportunities created by the new President, majority turnover in the city’s representation in Tallahassee, a revolutionary pension deal currently being approved by the city’s unions, and the imperiled fate of Enterprise Florida, this is a make […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 23, 2017

Jacksonville is another step closer to long-term peace with its labor unions, as the Fraternal Order of Police resoundingly voted to accept terms of the tentative pension deal on Thursday. 64.5 percent of officers, sergeants, and bailiffs voted for the deal. 81.4 percent of lieutenants and captains accepted terms. A deal was agreed to on Feb. […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 6, 2017

On Monday, the city of Jacksonville and the local Fraternal Order of Police continued its collective bargaining efforts, in a five-hour-plus afternoon session that spilled over into the evening. Going into the session, the main sticking point was a small but meaningful disagreement on raises for current employees, and whether or not new hires would […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 31, 2017

A message from Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams to the Fraternal Order of Police was conveyed Tuesday: take the city’s pension deal. Jacksonville has been in the process of renegotiating the pension plans of all of its unions, but police and fire have offered the most urgency. The real sticking point, beyond finding an appropriate level of […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 25, 2017

As with the morning collective bargaining session with the city’s fire union, the city of Jacksonville’s afternoon session with the police union saw a sweetened offer for police and corrections. But with the sweet comes the sour. The Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police held firm to the #YesToFRS position for new hires … and opened […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Earlier on Monday, FloridaPolitics.com reported on bills filed in both chambers of the Florida Legislature that would foreclose the defined benefit plan of the Florida Retirement System to new municipalities. This bill is especially topical in Northeast Florida because a major sticking point in collective bargaining between the city of Jacksonville and its police and fire […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 11, 2017

The city of Jacksonville and its police union resumed collective bargaining for the first time since November on Tuesday, with the sides starting far apart. The daylight between labor and management was significant as last year closed. There’s less daylight after the Wednesday session. The city made an improved offer, one which offers a bigger city […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 14, 2016

The crossroads for pension plans for new hires in Jacksonville is here, and is casting a shadow over virtually every aspect of the city’s future. The latest bond rating trip for the city, for example, saw the pension issue – and whether or not Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry will succeed in getting at least one […]

Tag: Fraternal Order of Police
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Police union heads refute Jacksonville council member’s accusation of racial profiling

Jacksonville police union chief to City Councilors: Apologize or resign

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Jacksonville police union overwhelmingly approves pension deal

Jacksonville police union advances individual pension contract proposal

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Lenny Curry sweetens pension offer to Jacksonville police, gives 30 days to respond

John Rutherford, a former Jacksonville sheriff, discusses police pensions