Peyton: www.Fixitnow.cc

[mtraininjax]

Mtrain:  The Property Appraiser's Office must follow state law and Department of Revenue (DOR) guidelines.  DOR's guidelines do not allow Property Appraisers to use foreclosure sales in setting market values--in response to your quote below.

Kay, Thanks for the input, but I really don't care if the State of Florida's DOR guidelines make Jim Overton stand on his head and count to 10. When the banks who write the mortgages are including foreclosures in EVERY appraisal and our State leaders cannot change their programs to follow suit, there is a MAJOR disconnect for everyone involved in the largest economic engine for Florida. Real Estate got us into this mess and it can get us all out.

The property tax relief is a wash after they raise the millage rate, so we still have the same banks writing loans including foreclosures, which are not going to stop anytime soon, and will probably race further ahead as we see more ARMs come due to a few more legs up.

I am amazed at how none of the leaders saw this coming down the road. Peyton has been in power for 6 years, and no one saw how easy it was to manipulate the system. No one learned from the S&L crisis. Now only property owners are paying for the sins of everyone. This really pisses me off, and people are fine with a property tax increase, but no one can work to fix the sales tax issue with the state, that would make all 800,000 people who live in Duvale county PAY for what they consume!

[mtraininjax]

All of your posts have been as contrarian as possible, and represent a pretty extreme anti taxation viewpoint that I don't think the rest of the city shares with you.

In the mtrain universe, mass transit won't work, no taxes should be raised because we can just all live in the basement and use an outhouse when necessary and to hell with the quality of life.

Sure the real world is less bleak.

You can agree to disagree with me, we can both co-exist peacefully. I disagree with your beliefs, but I don't belittle you for them. I would think you could act like an adult as well and peacefully co-exist with me. If not, ignore me. I think the discussions are more lively when people do not have a "follow the herd mentality".

If you can find money in this budget for mass transit, I wish you well, the facts are there is no money in the City, less need (by the masses, reference the JCCI study for yourself), and I think it is humorous to keep beating this dead horse, so I make light of it. Nothing wrong with it, just my 2 cents.

Let's just keep it lively!

[mtraininjax]

I choose to live in a city because I want to be near parks where I can run and relax.  I want to be able to walk to a neighborhood library where I can check out books for free instead of buying them.  I want to be able to recycle because I care about the environment, even though it might cost a bit more.  I would love to get rid of my car and use effective mass transit.  I like being around others and supporting my friends in their small business ventures.  I enjoy attending the symphony and city events like the jazz festival.  I live in a city because I love it.

Be near the parks, great, we have a fantastic park system, finding one should be no problem (check). We have many new libraries, you can walk from Avondale to 1) Murray Hill, 2)Riverside, 3) Downtown, if you had to, as walking is more fun when it is 110 degree heat index. Better hurry though, we may have to shut them down without enough funding. Recycling is cool, how much of what you throw away is recycled? There is no value in plastic right now, it costs more to recycle plastic than it does to purchase new virgin plastic pellets. I would not be suprised to learn that if the City is not dumping plastic, the company doing the recycling is just holding onto them for a new economy. Get out, ride your bike, enjoy our moderate ozone for now. Its a good time to be outside, love the city and all its eccentricities. Go see the Suns play, head to the beach, take a boat ride, we can do all of these great things here. We are the LARGEST CITY in the United States, we can all find things we like and dislike, but we all care, which is why we share.

[tufsu1]

Cut it all out. Would BJP pass today if we had to do it all over again? It passed 52 to 48, but I am thinking it would be more like 30 to 70 now.

I bet it would pass if folks knew what it paid for....the City has done a very poor job in touting what has been built w/ BJP funds...Tallahassee and Pinellas put permanent signs on every road letting people know that improvements were funded with sales tax revenues.

Bet you'd be surprised to find out that 20 road projcts have been built and another 8 are under construction...plus 4 that are in design or ROW phase....and then add the new libraries, arena, baseball stadium, nd courthouse that is finally under construction.

All that for an extra 1/2 cent on every dollar....seems like a pretty good deal to me!

[Keith-N-Jax]

Tufsu1 I have seen many of these signs posted on road projects(BJP). I doubt many people pay attention to them though unless your a metrojacksonville member :0)

[tufsu1]

sure Keith...but that is while its under construction....I'm talking about permanent road signs that stay up after the project is complete

[Keith-N-Jax]

Doubt the city would see a need to keep them posted, although a good idea.

[Adam Hollingsworth]

Brainstomer â€" Sorry for the delay in responding to you. Please find below our responses to the great issues and questions you raised.  Let’s keep up the dialogue.

Budget Concerns with Immediate Savings:

1.  In 2009 the city budgeted an additional 1.5 million for consulting fees to money managers of the general employee pension fund. (page 208)  I ask why this excessive increase?  Can we cut back at least a million?

In looking at the FY 2009/2010 budget, you will see the mayor has proposed a $2.7 million decrease in such fees.  This is a result of a change in money managers. 

2.  The city council alone is budgeted 18 million. (page 244)  This seems outrageous!!!  Do council members really need all of these secretaries and expense accounts?  I think cutting 8-10 million off the top would be a good start.  If council members can't deal with that, then they should resign.

The proposed City Council budget for FY 09/10 is $9.5 million â€" far less than the number you refer to above.  However, we will defer to the City Council on detailed issues related to their budget.

3.   The Finance Department's expenditures have quadrupled since 2007 to over 200 million!!!     What has caused this huge increase? (page 276)  Can we cut say 50 million and still continue to pay off debt?

The increased expenditures are predominantly related to capital financing through the Banking Fund â€" refer to page #283 of the 2009 printed budget document.  The Banking Fund is a centralized source of financing for capital (computer equipment, vehicle replacement, Fire and Rescue equipment, Sheriffs Office equipment, etc.) items and saves the city considerable amounts of interest expense based on the premise that the city can borrow money at a lesser rate than most installment or lease purchase agreements.

4.   According to the budget (page 355), the Planning and Development Department barely existed in 2007.  In 2009 it suddenly accounted for 22 million in expenditures.  This department went from 60 positions to 238 and also included 6,355 budgeted part time hours.  Why the sudden explosion in this department and how is this affecting the city?  I haven't noticed our city becoming that much better since 2007.  Can we cut 7 million here?

The reorganization of government functions, which was part of the 2008 budget, resulted in moving the Building Inspection Division and Development Management Plan and Permit review functions into the Planning Department dramatically changing the size and budget of the department.

Additional Budget Areas with Potential Savings

1.  I agree, the pension thing must be fixed immediately.

Thank you for that.  That’s why pension reform is an important part of the mayor’s three-part plan.

2.  The city gives out 30 million in grants to the community. (pages 65-74)  After looking at the list there are some that seem unneeded.  Let's revisit who we give grants to and make sure the money is being spent wisely.  I say we could cut at least 5-10 million in grants and not do much damage.

The page numbers you reference relate to grants received by the city, primarily from state and federal sources.  Last year the city budgeted approximately $3.2 million in matching funds to draw down $30 million from outside sources â€" a 10 to 1 yield on General Fund money.  The grants are used for everything from parks and community development to public safety investments to supervisor of elections activities. 

3.   The Concurrency Management system should be able to absorb at least some cuts because of the decrease in area development. (page 89)

The concurrency management system is a self supporting fund and does not impact the General Fund â€" no opportunity for General Fund savings here.

4.  Let's rethink the JHFA and do some cutting there as well.  This relatively new department has many potential savings.  Things we like, but don't need.  It only helps a small number of citizens and many non-profits offer similar programs.

This is a self supporting activity and does not have any General Fund impact.

5.  Jacksonville Children's Commission accounts for 30 million of the budget. (page 317) We all love children, but there is some "fluff" in this department that isn't really doing a lot of good.  Don't cut the whole department but 5-8 million isn't going to hurt it much.

The Jacksonville Children’s Commission budget in the proposed FY 09/10 General Fund is approximately $21.9, slightly less than the current year budget.  A cut of $5 to $8 million would mean reduced services to kids by at least 25 percent.  This would mean a drop in children served from 17,822 to 13,412.  That means about 4,500 fewer kids in after school programs, mental health care, mentoring, drop out prevention, services for homeless kids, summer camps, etc.  If you have specific ideas about where to cut the $5 to $8 million, let me know and we can respond with better specificity.

6.  The mayor needs to take a look at overtime for city employees in all departments.  This is costing the city millions and in some cases it might be cheaper to hire a new "cheap" employee under a new less costly pension plan so that some of these folks at the top of the pay scale aren't raping the city for time and a half overtime charges.  I would also think about an employee incentive plan for a strong work ethic.  I personally get paid a set salary and if I don't get my work done during the day, I take it home and do it on my own time.  What a concept huh?  I'll be honest, you have some lazy, worthless employees who are abusing our taxpayer money.  Let's start firing those who can't quite cut it.

Overtime is a planned, budgeted line-item to allow for the rapid deployment of personnel during extraordinary events (i.e., hurricanes).  In many cases, it is better to budget for overtime rather than keep idle employees on the payroll fulltime.  In addition, the JSO has used overtime to accommodate both a lack of personnel in the jail system and to put more officers on the street until full-time officers can trained and deployed.   The city did increase the JSO overtime budget in the FY 08/09 budget to address a rising crime rate and allow the Sheriff to initiate Operations Safe Streets (OSS).  The approach in last year’s budget was to hire new officers while allowing for overtime as needed to immediately address the crime problem and adequately staff OSS.  The new officers (both patrol and corrections) hired last year are now moving into the force.  As a result, the proposed FY 09/10 budget will include a $6.0 million reduction in the JSO overtime budget.  Additionally, one of the issues at the Collective Bargaining negotiations this year will be to remove contract provisions which have in some cases resulted in an institutionalized over use of overtime.

7.  Many people feel that administrative people like yourself   and many administrative secretaries are paid too much.  I would say anyone making over $75,000 should take an 8% pay cut.

There are various opinions at play as it pertains to salaries of government employees.  The collective bargaining process this year will address issues related to employee compensation such as furloughs which will impact every public sector employee regardless of their at-will or civil service status with the exception of uniformed officers in Police, Corrections and Fire.  We will also be addressing employee health insurance and pension contributions and a series of other cost saving measures related to employees.

8.  At least 5-8 million could be saved by cutting AMIO salaries and eliminating many of these positions that are redundant.  http://jaxpolitics.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/city-special-appointees-still-raking-in-the-money/ I wish I could have had a 20-30% raise last year.   

The perception that AMIO’s are just employees sitting around with nothing to do is simply incorrect.  They are an integral part of the workforce and key to the effective management of city government.  Our HR group has conducted job audits and industry wide comparables to insure these positions are serving in an effective capacity.   This “at-will” band of the workforce allows for flexibility in the management of the workforce.

9.   Hanna and Huguenot Parks account for 2.5 million in budgeted dollars.  This seems very unfair when you look at the neglect of so many other parks in the city.  I say cut their budgets or at least distribute the funds to other parks in the city.  Hogan's Creek really needs some help.

Hanna and Hugenot Park have an entry fee that creates a revenue component that is not so prevalent in other parks.  This $2.5 million reflects the revenue collected at those two parks.  This revenue cannot be diverted to other parks. 

As to your comment about the park system generally, the mayor agrees with you.  The city of Jacksonville spends $46 per person on parks.  That ranks us dead last in Florida among large urban cities and counties on parks spending.  The next lowest in Florida â€" Miami/Dade County â€" spends $100 per person.  This underinvestment does not allow us to fully capture the value of Jacksonville’s park system and create the neighborhood centers of pride our citizens deserve.

[Noone]

Tune in tonight. 2013-694 A bigger TV for city council.
Free Parking
New comfy chairs.
Expanded drinking zone.
Turn it Up.

No Shoes
No Shirt
No Money
No Problems- Visit Jacksonville

But greater restrictions to our St. johns River our American Heritage River a FEDERAL Initiative in our new highly restricted DIA zone. LPS- Let People Succeed.

[acme54321]

So you felt the need to bump a 4 year old post to continue the ramblings on waterways and public trust? 

[Noone]

Yes.
Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting just 6 1/2 hours out. Will there be a FIND update on the agenda? For our citizens.  Our property tax money. How about the gillnet ban issue for an emergency resolution that has been requested by citizens?
Anyone want to donate a buck to 2009-442? the artificial reef trust fund? Very positive.
MJ'ers and you know who you are when we have all given up asking you know who about you know what.