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A.G. GancarskiJune 22, 2016

The parade of departmental budget reviews in Jacksonville’s Mayor’s Office continued Wednesday with a consideration of budgets for the Downtown Investment Authority (DIA). The highlights: A discussion of public parking, now under the purview of the DIA, revealed a restructuring of funds: off-street parking was never solvent, so on-street parking had to make it whole. […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 22, 2016

The parade of departmental budget reviews in Jacksonville’s Mayor’s Office continued Wednesday with a consideration of budgets for the Parks and Recreation Department. As ever, these reviews are conducted by Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa and CFO Mike Weinstein. Among the highlights from Parks: a dive into the Hemming Park allocation, a discussion of water taxis, the […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 21, 2016

On Tuesday, the annual budget review of Jacksonville’s Office of Economic Development was conducted by Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa. The most interesting takeaway: surplus incentive funds that won’t be used, with a reduction in allocation year over year. The highlights: OED head Kirk Wendland is prepared to reduce QTI and Rev Grant monies by $400,000 in […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 21, 2016

On Tuesday, the office of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry reviewed the budget of Sports and Entertainment and the Office of Economic Development, ahead of formal submission of the budget to City Council in July. Facilitating the review: Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa. The highlights from Sports and Entertainment: Active discussion of the Florida/Georgia Hall of Fame […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 13, 2016

On Monday, the Jacksonville Mayor’s Budget Review Committee took a look at the budget of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, one of the most compelling sections in a flat budget year. A $17 million increase in general fund allocation was requested in the roughly $400 million budget. The highlights: Red-light camera revenue is down, as a result of driver […]

A.G. GancarskiJune 3, 2016

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Changes may be in store for the beleaguered management of Jacksonville’s Hemming Park. A meeting on the “Future Plans of Hemming Park” is to take place Wednesday in the office suite of Jacksonville’s City Council. The meeting will include CFO Mike Weinstein and Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart from the mayor’s office, as well as Daryl Joseph, Jake Gordon […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 26, 2016

A familiar figure in Jacksonville’s City Hall is John Winkler. The Riverside lawyer, former Democratic candidate for clerk of courts, and president of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has a new cause: defeating the Aug. 30 pension tax referendum. And there’s a website to match: Just-Vote-No.com. Winkler won’t be winning any “Webmaster of the Year” awards […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 16, 2016

An ordinance appropriating $250,000 from Jacksonville City Council contingency funds to construct a stage at downtown’s Hemming Park was approved Monday by a 6-to-1 vote of the Finance Committee after over an hour of discussion. There were some sticking points beforehand. Multiple members of the committee expressed serious qualms about this particular deal, and about the […]

A.G. GancarskiMay 2, 2016

In a drama-free move, the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee approved a bill authorizing a referendum on extension of the half-cent sales tax on Monday. Bill 2016-300 passed unanimously as an emergency measure. CFO Mike Weinstein noted that the referendum would close the three existing pension plans, which created the $2.7 billion unfunded pension liability. “The beauty […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 27, 2016

Jacksonville is headed into a lean budget year, according to most City Hall observers. Yet the man in charge of budget, CFO Mike Weinstein, is being honored with an award for his budget prowess. The Government Finance Officers Association sent a letter to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry informing him that Weinstein won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The award, […]

Tag: Mike Weinstein
Sen Rick Scott in Sarasota. Photo by Jacob Ogles.

Parking discussions abound during Jax Downtown Investment Authority budget review

Jax Mayor’s Office reviews Parks budget

Jax mayor’s office reviews Office of Economic Development budget

Jax mayor’s office reviews sports and entertainment budget

Jax mayor’s office reviews sheriff’s budget

Meeting slated Wednesday on future of Hemming Park

Jax activist John Winkler: ‘Just vote no’ on pension tax

Jax Council Finance OKs $250,000 for Hemming Park stage

Jax Finance Committee approves pension tax referendum

Jacksonville CFO Mike Weinstein receives national award for budget prowess