Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiDecember 7, 2016

Two bills related to sports and entertainment cleared the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee on Wednesday. The first bill would increase city-imposed ticket surcharges for the Veterans Memorial Arena, the Baseball Grounds of Jax, and the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts, while adding surcharges for events at the under construction amphitheater and flex field at […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 7, 2016

Key Jacksonville officials leave for New York Wednesday, on a pivotal trip for meetings with various bond ratings agencies. 2015’s meetings saw a series of upgrades for the city’s position. Thursday sees meetings with Fitch and Moody’s. Friday offers some time with S&P. Mayor Lenny Curry, Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, CFO Mike Weinstein, and Treasurer Joey Greive will […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 1, 2016

“Who knew what when?” That’s the question posed by Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police head Steve Zona in a two-paragraph open letter regarding the latest in Jacksonville’s police and fire pension fund drama. On Tuesday, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry expressed frustration over problems with calculations of a “waiver” from the Jacksonville PFPF that could result in an […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 23, 2016

Tuesday saw the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters slamming a pension reform proposal from City Hall. Wednesday saw the Fraternal Order of Police doing the same, offering its own proposals for police and corrections that include raises for all employees, pension benefits rolled back to 2015 levels for extant employees, and the Florida Retirement System […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 22, 2016

In 2015, the city of Jacksonville’s annual bond rating trip to New York City was a success, one which improved the city’s credit ratings and allowed the Lenny Curry administration to trumpet its successes well into 2016. Among the accomplishments: Better Jacksonville Plan sales tax revenue upgrades in February to A+ from S&P and Fitch, with a […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 25, 2016

Passed at Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting: an emergency appropriations bill to get dune restoration moving forward from Beach Blvd. up to 16th Street … and potentially south of Beach Blvd. as well. $7.5 million will be moved from the debt management fund for the work, with oversight from the mayor’s office’s CFO and Chief Administrative […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 27, 2016

Friday’s arrest of rabid anti-LGBT rights Brunswick pastor Ken Adkins on charges of child molestation and aggravated child molestation of a young man represented the end of an era in Jacksonville politics. It was the end of an era for white Republicans, who, going back a decade, saw Adkins as a portal to picking up black […]

Peter SchorschJuly 5, 2016

One of the most undercovered, yet indispensable, parts of the fiscal year in Jacksonville: The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee, which is a misnomer, as one never actually sees the Mayor in the room. If the posted schedule is correct, that committee wraps Wednesday, with a “clean up” session slated for next Tuesday afternoon to resolve any issues left […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 5, 2016

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville Mayor’s Budget Review Committee performed an omnibus wrap up session, as budget review ends Wednesday. The usual players were analyzing the budgets: Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, CFO Mike Weinstein, and Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart. The Tuesday session dealt with the “short list” of potential enhancements, bolstered by some small increase in property tax revenues, […]

A.G. GancarskiJuly 1, 2016

Friday morning saw Jacksonville’s Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, and CFO Mike Weinstein review the budgets for venues. Some highlights from the review of SMG budgets: The baseball stadium saw contractual services revenues down $319,000. Estimates were inflated, given revenue from the Armada underperformed projections at the time of budget submission last summer. Despite discussions of a new […]

Tag: Mike Weinstein
Image via Palatka Main Street.

Ticket surcharge, temporary seat bills clear Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee

‘Reform of the system’ part of the narrative on Jacksonville bond rating trip

Jacksonville FOP fires back against mayor’s office in pension flap

Jacksonville police union: defined benefit pensions are not ‘dinosaurs’

Agenda set for city of Jacksonville bond rating trip

Jacksonville City Council OKs $7.5 M for dune restoration

How hate preacher Ken Adkins became Jacksonville’s problem

Jacksonville Bold for 07.05.16 — What the fiscal cliff looks like

Jax mayor’s budget review committee works toward final recommendations

Stadium, other venue budgets get once over from Jax mayor’s office