General Counsel Rick Mullaney Guest Blog: City Charter

[Metro Jacksonville]

General Counsel Rick Mullaney Guest Blog:  City Charter



General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville will be joining us here at Metrojacksonville to explain how and why the Consolidated City government actually works.

As the men and women who created Consolidated government are getting older and many of them have passed, taking with them the institutional knowledge that went into the reasoning of our government, Its important to pass on the basic knowledge of our way of Governing.

Jacksonville is the only Consolidated government in the State, and the largest Consolidated municipal entity in the US.  

How does it work?  What problems does it solve?   After forty years of practice, what changes and unintended consequences have affected the original vision?

Rick Mullaney will present the issues and create a dialogue about the issue with you, our readers.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-sep-general-counsel-rick-mullaney-guest-blog-city-charter

[CS Foltz]

The original Charter had a section that contained"Ethics Department" They were charged with overseeing all government agency's including the Independent Authority's. They had the power to subpoena and conduct an investigation and impose fines! Why was that removed and by who or whom? Ethics Officer COJ is a part time employee with no office or staff or funding.............why?

[buckethead]

Is that^ a rhetorical question? 

[stjr]

The problem with the City Council structure is it is both the House (i.e. district reps) and Senate (i.e. the at-large reps) rolled into one body.  As such, those elected to look out for all of Jax (the at-large reps) can't control or veto the district projects approved through back room horse trading by the district reps who control a super majority of the council and tend to be more petty and backwards to placate their limited constituencies.

This has served to dilute the character of a consolidated government that is suppose to be more oriented toward the big picture for the good of the whole county, not specific districts.  This part of Jacksonville has not fulfilled its promise as a result and we are being held back by it.  It needs to top the list of changes.

[stjr]

While we are at it, we need to create an independent Parks, Preservation, Beautification, and Historical Commission with its own budget and enforcement powers (park police, litter patrols, historic code/restrictions enforcement, etc.).  Money could come from the city budget, park fees and rentals, and tax revenue derived from increased property values that result from its actions.

[tufsu1]

How about:

Should the JTA be split into two agencies and a new Mass Transit Authority be a stand alone chartered entity?

I'd like to know if Mr. Mullaney thinks the City even has jurisdiction to make this change.

[stjr]

Even JTA admits its unusual to have roads and mass transit in the same agency.  This is from their 2007/2008 annual report:

With an extensive mission of providing all
modes of surface transportation â€" which link
together to form a transportation network
that greatly improves regional mobility â€" for
the surrounding area, JTA is one of the most
unusual entities of its kind in the country. It’s
one of only seven state agencies that provide
both transit and roadway engineering services.

[tufsu1]

guess that doesn't include all the state DOTs....because every one of them does it.

[Lunican]

This series starts tomorrow!