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A.G. GancarskiAugust 26, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee continued its budget reviews on Wednesday afternoon. Documents were sparse in terms of change recommendations from Council Auditor Kirk Sherman, yet with the Jacksonville City Council, the potential is always there for lively discussion. The discussion of the Court budget, with Chief Judge Mark Mahon, was notable more for its […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 26, 2015

Beyond the Liberty Street discussion, there were discussion points of note during Wednesday morning’s Capital Improvement Projects review by the Finance Committee of the Jacksonville City Council. This is by no means an exhaustive recap of these. John Crescimbeni asked for a total recap of this CIP budget compared to the last. About $71 million […]

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 Tuesday Jacksonville Electric Authority Special Committee meeting, which was promised to be a short one with “cleanup” from unaddressed points from the previous agenda, seemed like it would be uncontroversial enough. It began with a discussion of surge protectors. Councilman Bill Gulliford mentioned that Florida Power and Light is running a deal where they offer […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 25, 2015

Florida Politics has learned that Jessica Baker, governmental consultant for Ballard Partners, has left the lobbying firm’s Jacksonville office to join the Lenny Curry administration, where she will be second in command in Intergovernmental Affairs under Ali Korman Shelton. Curry and his Chief Administrative Officer, Sam Mousa, were asked about the talk that had been circulating Tuesday morning. Answering […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 24, 2015

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In what could be construed as a shot across the bow of the Lenny Curry administration, the office of Councilman Tommy Hazouri this weekend advanced an ambitious proposal to expand the library’s collection budget and increase allocations to Urban Core libraries. The moves would expand service hours and add more services to address the outcome […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 22, 2015

Last week, the City of Jacksonville’s Information Technology chief, Usha Mohan, officially resigned her service with the City of Jacksonville. During the June transition period, the Information Technology budget hearing had its contentious moments, with questions ranging from use of reserve and surplus funds to workforce allocation. Emails between Mohan and Chief Administrative Office Sam Mousa on the […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 14, 2015

Finance Committee Chair Bill Gulliford removed his prop bottle of Advil from his desk before the Friday session. Perhaps that was too optimistic a move. The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings on Friday morning started off with interesting exchanges between Sam Mousa and John Crescimbeni about Fire and Rescue structural issues, before going into a discussion of […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 13, 2015

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee Budget Hearing Day One commenced with the administration overview, then a bracing 165-minute romp through capital improvement projects with Council Auditor Kirk Sherman. As the old song goes, “Let’s get this party started right; let’s get this party started quickly.” Overall, it was a very smooth session, with minor […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 12, 2015

It’s the most exciting time of the year in #jaxpol: the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee budget hearings start Thursday! For those upset that Jacksonville lacks a Disney-style theme park attraction, no worries: the next couple of weeks offers a veritable thrill ride through a mystery maze of line items, subfunds, and allocations. And you […]

Tag: Sam Mousa

Jax Finance Committee looks at regulatory compliance, debt affordability

Jax Finance Committee mulls CIP, banking fund

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

Sam Mousa says JEA, Jacksonville “treat each other like strangers”

Personnel note: Jessica Baker joins Lenny Curry administration

Tommy Hazouri floats proposal to “rebuild” Jax library system

Usha Mohan resigns from COJ

Fireworks at Friday morning Jax Council budget hearings

Jax Council budget review morning session addresses UF Health, other issues

Jax City Council budget hearings start Thursday