Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Despite a contentious meeting between JEA CEO Paul McElroy and the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday evening, odds are good council members will continue their complaints regarding the slow pace of power restoration on Wednesday and perhaps beyond. The JEA Outage Map shows 23,914 JEA customers are still without power as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, almost five days after the […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 12, 2016

Though the major story of Tuesday’s city council meeting was that the city may have to spend $100 million and that JEA may have to spend $30 million (in funds that should be reimbursed) to get back to normal after Hurricane Matthew, bills nonetheless were deliberated and passed. **** On Tuesday night, the Jacksonville City Council passed […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2016

On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry‘s Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa addressed the city council on how recovery efforts are going after Hurricane Matthew. There is lots of work ahead, and that work will have to be exhaustively documented for reimbursement purposes, and it will cost millions of dollars. Mousa noted the process, including engaging contractors, would be done outside […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 11, 2016

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is going to address the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday on hurricane damage and recovery. He will have no shortage of subject matter, as hurricane mitigation and recovery has been the signature test of his administration so far. After Hurricane Matthew’s impact on Jacksonville, there are known knowns and known unknowns. A known […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 10, 2016

What a difference a week makes. Last week in Jacksonville’s City Hall, a state of emergency was declared, ahead of the onslaught of Hurricane Matthew. This week, the council will get back to business. A key part of that business: Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry offering a damage assessment and a recap of recovery efforts after the […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 6, 2016

The Loblolly Mitigation Bank consists of 6,274 acres of land in Jacksonville’s Westside by U.S. 301. It was purchased in late 2003, at the end of the John Delaney administration. The city owns 67.25 percent of the land, which is permitted by the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 5, 2016

Dead pensioners getting money. Inadequate and outdated procedures. Slow responses to audit recommendations. County Referendum 1 offered a a path to a funding source for Jacksonville’s $2.8 billion unfunded pension liability, but issues remain with the pension office itself. On Wednesday in the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee, auditor Kirk Sherman discussed matters with “a few legal issues” […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 4, 2016

On Tuesday morning, one Jacksonville City Council panel issued a rebuke to the Florida Environmental Regulatory Commission fast-tracking a decision to weaken water quality standards, to where increased amounts benzene and other carcinogenic chemicals can be released in Florida waterways. On Tuesday afternoon, the Rules committee unanimously approved Councilman Jim Love‘s resolution asking the EPA to consider Jacksonville, in a […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 4, 2016

In July, the Florida Environmental Regulatory Commission fast-tracked a decision to weaken water quality standards, allowing more benzene and other wastewater chemicals to be released in Florida waterways. In October, a Jacksonville City Council committee (Public Health and Safety) approved unanimously a resolution to express opposition and urge reconsideration of the recommendations sent to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. In doing […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 3, 2016

A bill in the Jacksonville City Council to tighten up the penalties on false reports from burglar alarms will be heard for a second time by a committee Monday. The Neighborhood, Community Investment and Services [NCIS] Committee will consider 2016-562 Monday morning, after deferring it in September. Of the 45,000 alarms in Jacksonville yearly, a […]

Tag: jacksonville city council

Nearly 24K JEA customers remain without power Wednesday morning

Jacksonville City Council tightens false burglar alarm penalties

Up to $100M needed to get Jacksonville to normal after storm

Days after Matthew, a ‘resilient’ Jacksonville soldiers toward recovery

Lenny Curry to brief Jacksonville City Council Tuesday on hurricane damage, recovery

Jacksonville City Council audit maligns mismanaged wetlands mitigation deal

Jacksonville pension office struggles with audit issues

Second Jacksonville City Council panel rebukes state for lax surface water standards

Jacksonville council panel pushes back on relaxed state surface water quality standards

Burglar alarm bill to get second pass with Jacksonville City Council panel Monday