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A.G. GancarskiJuly 30, 2015

In the immortal words of Wyclef Jean, the Jacksonville City Council Special Committee on Capital Improvement Projects is “gone ’til November.” However, it did have one final meeting (aside from an expected cameo during August’s Finance Committee budget hearings) on Wednesday afternoon. Many fascinating topics were covered at the meeting, which included, at least for part […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 28, 2015

“City Council meetings are like Christmas twice a month. You know you’ll get a present. The question is whether it’s going to be a good one or a bad one,” Council President Greg Anderson said before the meeting The first City Council meeting of the new class was expected, going in, to be a quiet one. […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 23, 2015

The Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Jacksonville City Council Capital Improvement Plan Special Committee was not a spectator sport. The CIP committee does a lot of the heavy lifting, respective to giving the larger council guidance on capital improvement projects, debt service, internal controls, cash transfers, and so much more. There are no discussions in […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 20, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry delivered his administration’s first budget address just after at 8:30 a.m. Monday to a packed Jacksonville City Council chambers. It was a short, direct speech that, as expected, mirrored policies established in budget hearings and the draft version released this past week. Council President Greg Anderson called the meeting to order at 8:33, […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 17, 2015

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced late Friday the appointment of Kevin Stork as Jacksonville comptroller. Stork returns to a role he held during two Republican administrations between 1999 and 2011, at an annual salary of a little more than $131,000. “Kevin Stork will bring his keen financial acumen back to City Hall and I am excited […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 17, 2015

Florida Politics has covered the Lenny Curry transition subcommittees as thoroughly as any Jacksonville outlet, and as we review the subcommittee reports (in draft form), a holistic vision is emerging in both the budget early-stage actions by Curry and the organizational structure. The A Safer Jacksonville subcommittee recommended new fire stations and some relocations of fire stations […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 30, 2015

As we reported on Monday, Denise Lee will be serving in the Lenny Curry administration as Director of Blight Initiatives. After her Blight Committee meeting as part of the Curry transition operation at Jacksonville University, we were able to sit her down for an interview, in which she talked about working with Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, about where […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 29, 2015

The second Lenny Curry transition committee of Monday morning discussed budget and finance. One big change in the offing looks to be structural, in terms of reporting. The first major discussion involved the mayor’s cabinet. In previous administrations prior to Mayor Alvin Brown, only the Chief Administrative Officer and the Chief of Staff reported directly to […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 26, 2015

Two weeks ago, I wrote a piece arguing that these Lenny Curry Transition Team budget reviews should not be open to the media. Once they were made open, however, I endeavored to cover all of them that I could. They were supposed to run for three days; in fact, they ran for seven. Despite that, […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 25, 2015

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The final budget review for Lenny Curry‘s transition team involves Information Technology. Usha Mohan is the primary representative of IT. 3:18: A discussion of vacancies. 16 total, with a lot of attrition, and they don’t “pay enough to attract people.” Vacant positions were “not funded at the right levels.” 3:20: Vacancies have ranged, in recent years, from […]

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Sen Rick Scott in Sarasota. Photo by Jacob Ogles.

Jax CIP committee, Curry administration debate semantics, capital, reserves

Jacksonville City Council: July 28, 2015 recap

Jax Capital Improvement committee a preview of COJ budget tussle

With first budget, Lenny Curry says “Jacksonville is back in business”

Kevin Stork returns as Jax comptroller

Lenny Curry transition subcommittee reports show holistic vision

Denise Lee talks blight and her new administration role

Lenny Curry Operations transition committee discusses budget and finance

Final thoughts on Lenny Curry transition team budget reviews

Jax transition budget meeting: Information Technology