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A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

Freshman Jacksonville City Council Democrats Katrina Brown and Reggie Gaffney have at least a couple things in common. They both serve on the Finance Committee, which just approved the municipal budget on Wednesday afternoon. And they both plan to counterprogram Week 4 of the NFL Preseason, which includes extended action from Tim Tebow with the Philadelphia Eagles, with […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 3, 2015

Councilman Reggie Gaffney has been a busy man these days, as a member of the Finance Committee that spent much of August wrestling with Jacksonville’s municipal budget. The Jacksonville Democrat’s been so busy, in fact, that his Community Rehabilitation Center came perilously close to missing a grant deadline, as his executive assistant, Jill Kestner, wrote to Mayor Lenny […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee continued its budget deliberations on Wednesday afternoon, with an eye toward same-day finalization of the budget. UF Health’s contribution from the city of Jacksonville was another cleanup item on the agenda. $26,275,594 is the proposed amount, unchanged from the previous year. Councilman Reggie Gaffney wondered what any extra money would go […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council’s Finance Committee began its eighth and theoretically final day of budget review on Wednesday morning. To that end, Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford cautioned against “pontification,” threatening to “invoke Council rules” to rein discursiveness in. Here are the morning highlights: — A discussion of three wellness and safety positions being removed […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2015

The last Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee of August had more deferrals than Washington insiders had Vietnam War deferments. Still, the value is in the journey, not the destination. Here are the highlights. • “Everybody comfortable? I think you can hang meat in here.” – Councilman Bill Gulliford. • A non-exclusive Grant of Easement (2015-313) to […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 28, 2015

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It seemed the Tommy Hazouri proposal to rebuild the Jacksonville Library system by restoring hours in challenged neighborhoods would meet with approval from the finance committee on Friday. Then, Councilman Matt Schellenberg spoke up, wondering why there is no “preference to one or two of the libraries” in his Mandarin district, which have been “excluded” from this proposal. […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 27, 2015

Thursday morning’s Jacksonville Finance Committee budget hearing is set to include a potpourri of departments. The first big talker was the budget for the Talent Management program, related to a tuition reimbursement program of $125,000 for Jacksonville Fire and Rescue promotional requirements. That led Councilman John Crescimbeni to ask whether it was part of collective […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 26, 2015

On Wednesday morning, the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee considered the Capital Improvement Projects Budget. As these things go, it was not a spectator sport. The big story: the Liberty Street issue, described as “unsightly” and the consequences of “deferred maintenance” by Council President Greg Anderson. The Liberty Street Collapse was a big talking point for Lenny […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2015

The highlight of the agenda meeting before Tuesday’s Jacksonville City Council meeting: a discussion of a potential appeal of the Property Appraiser budget (2015-616). “The success of this” sort of action is “nominal at best,” said Matt Schellenberg, referring to exchanges that he had with the Florida League of Cities. Schellenberg, of course, was not driving […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 21, 2015

After fireworks erupted Friday morning when spirited discussions took place over the capital improvement budgets for the Jacksonville Electric Authority and Jacksonville Transportation Authority, city council members expected the afternoon session would go more smoothly, if only by default. Councilwoman Lori Boyer mentioned that the JTA local option gas tax discussion was especially contentious. Meanwhile, reports […]

Tag: Reggie Gaffney

Two Jax City Council town halls on Thursday evening

The grant deadline Jacksonville City Councilman Reggie Gaffney almost missed

Jax Finance Committee wrestles with UF Health funding woes

Jax Finance Committee mulls dredging, permit and stormwater fees in Wednesday morning budget wrapup

Sewage, sales tax hot topics in Jax Finance Committee on Monday

Tommy Hazouri Jax library rebuild proposal survives Finance budget review

JFRD tuition reimbursement under fire at Jax Finance Committee budget review

Liberty Street fix highlights Jax CIP budget discussion; Finance backs 2 year plan

Property appraiser budget emergency appeal falls at Jax Council meeting

Jax Finance committee approves JTA and JAA budgets