QuoteWhen Mayor Alvin Brown announced his proposed budget last summer, he unveiled the most ambitious spending plan of his time in office, one that would greenlight a record high $235 million in new borrowing for investments in downtown redevelopment, a facelift for Five Points and improvements to parks and roads.
None of that happened.
Instead, the City Council, skeptical whether the taxpayers could afford to take on that much new debt, executed its own plan. Council members approved just a portion of the new borrowing Brown requested, suspended tens of millions of dollars worth of previously approved projects and vowed to thoroughly examine city borrowing.
Once that review was completed, council members said they would consider approving a limited list of new, high-priority projects if any leftover money was found from completed projects or existing projects were deauthorized.
That review still hasn't been completed.
So heading toward the new year, it remains unclear which, if any, new capital improvement projects — like park upgrades, environmental cleanups and economic development initiatives — will be approved this year or whether the city will commit additional money toward road and sidewalk repairs beyond the bare-bones amount included in the budget.
Although a final conclusion hasn't been reached, Councilman Richard Clark, who led the Finance Committee last fall during its budget review, said he doesn't think any money will be found to take on new projects this year.
"We were very hopeful and really optimistic that all we would need to do is understand where we were, and generally believed we'd find available cash that gives us the ability to do some projects," Clark said. "Unfortunately, we've found just the opposite."
Full article: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2014-12-25/story/city-projects-not-horizon-new-year-council-members-say-money-just-not
Bold leadership by the City Council. Park upgrades? Environmental cleanups? Economic development initiatives? Roads and sidewalks kept in good working order? Not on this council's watch. Aren't we lucky to be governed by a regressive group of narrow-minded individuals who dig their heels in and fight progress at every step of the way.
QuoteBold leadership by the City Council.
I have to disagree. Councilwoman Lori Boyer is actually going through decades worth of less than impressively-managed capital improvement projects and monies right now with a fine tooth comb. So much of that money has been transferred between accounts, swept away among changing political whims, spent whether it was actually there or not or simply vanished into thin air (with lots of inter-department finger pointing). She is doing the only real comprehensive fiscal management of the CIP money that has been done in years. If you look beyond the TU headline and have seen what she and others like John Crescimbini have accomplished first hand... it's really been some of the boldest work City Council has done in over a decade.
Boyer and Crescimbini have both been very impressive with their hawkish focus on this issue. They are rolling up their sleeves to try to get things right.. when a lot of this money has been allowed to be steered aimlessly among a sea of lax fiscal management.
One thing that the Jacksonville City Council does right is making our city a worse place to live.
The odds are that those projects ripe for cutting because they have been "steered aimlessly among a sea of lax fiscal management" are also the ones the right people want the most. Even Lori Boyer has proven that she knows she must go along to get anything at all for her district so looking for great reforms from her or Crescimbini will lead nowhere but to disappointment.
If we elect better, if we care more, if time moves a few of the right people out of their power positions, we may eventually see real change and real movement forward. It won't be soon however.
Get a mayor that can propose a real budget and this won't be an issue anymore.
Quote from: strider on December 26, 2014, 12:34:44 PM
The odds are that those projects ripe for cutting because they have been "steered aimlessly among a sea of lax fiscal management" are also the ones the right people want the most. Even Lori Boyer has proven that she knows she must go along to get anything at all for her district so looking for great reforms from her or Crescimbini will lead nowhere but to disappointment.
If we elect better, if we care more, if time moves a few of the right people out of their power positions, we may eventually see real change and real movement forward. It won't be soon however.
Revenues decreased substantially for the past few years (this year there was a 3.5% increase in COJ revenues), while borrowing has drastically increased (sorry for not having the exact number in front of me). Meanwhile, you have a backlog of CIP projects that either never started, never got funded, had funds taken away from them inexplicably or wound up costing far more than they were supposed to.
Some spending and reserve accounts at COJ show there is money in the account, but there actually isn't. Some show projects have spent money, when they actually haven't. Some capital improvement projects show they spent x amount of dollars, when they actually spent more than x amount of dollars. Some worthwhile CIP projects were dropped, while other marginally important CIP projects were added. Meanwhile, borrowing against the banking fund (which is the credit card COJ uses to float capital improvement projects, which for the past few years has actually been used to balance the budget instead of funding CIP projects) keeps increasing. That's a pretty messy picture (and unsustainable to say the least).
Say you had a job making $40k/yr, then got laid off and took a job making $28k/yr and supplemented your expenses by using your credit cards. You charged $25k each of the last two years to those credit cards. Meanwhile your house needs a new roof that will cost $6k. You showed you had $4k in your checking account and $2k in a savings account and the roofer needs $3,400 deposit to start repairing your leaky roof... but you suddenly bounced a check when you went to pay the roofer. At that point, the wise thing to do would be to step back and figure out what the heck is going on and completely re-examine your entire financial picture. What expenses do you really need to pay for (do I really need to keep charging $6k a year to my credit card for new clothes when my car needs $2k in repairs)? Why does my checking account show $4k but I can't cover a check for $3,400... and why doesn't my $2k savings account draw against the difference (my savings account acts as my overdraft according to the bank, what gives)? Should I really be taking on more credit card debt, or do I need to take a part time job for a second source of income? Certainly, the answer shouldn't be to continue with business as usual, because something is obviously very wrong.
That's what Boyer, Crescimbini, et al are doing. Not sure how that can be criticized. That's just basic governance. Closing your eyes and continuing to shuffle curtains is not how to run your personal life, nonethless one of the largest municipal budgets in the country.
So, what designates a real budget? Does it have from a Republican to be acceptable? When a Democrat mayor proposes a budget it's time for the city to tighten its belt, but if a Republican proposes $2.25 billion to "Better Jacksonville" it sails through the council with flying colors. And not to get into tin-foil conspiracy land, but isn't it interesting that coming into an election year the council continues its attempts to stymy the mayor at every turn.
I honestly do not know how this is a Republican vs Democrat issue. It's a management issue. And Boyer (a Republican) and Crescimbeni (a Democrat) are trying to unravel a mess.
Sometimes, people actually want to do the job they were hired for. How they can be criticized for that or be accused of political hanky-panky is mind blowing.
This has nothing to do with partisan politics.
Our city is not financial sound and unless our community is willing to pay more taxes (property and/or sales tax), we will continue this slow spiral to the bottom.
Everything comes with a price
Quote from: SbahnInJax on December 26, 2014, 01:15:52 PM
So, what designates a real budget? Does it have from a Republican to be acceptable? When a Democrat mayor proposes a budget it's time for the city to tighten its belt, but if a Republican proposes $2.25 billion to "Better Jacksonville" it sails through the council with flying colors. And not to get into tin-foil conspiracy land, but isn't it interesting that coming into an election year the council continues its attempts to stymy the mayor at every turn.
BJP was passed by voters, and if my memory serves me correctly it never came before the council and that Republican actually had a fairly cantankerous relationship with the council.
Maybe we should consider changing the name of the city to 'NEW' Stockton?
Quote from: Intuition Ale Works on December 26, 2014, 02:45:10 PM
This has nothing to do with partisan politics.
Our city is not financial sound and unless our community is willing to pay more taxes (property and/or sales tax), we will continue this slow spiral to the bottom.
Everything comes with a price
+100
+100 x 2
I thought Jacksonville was fiscally sound; I guess not. Poor, inept, and lackluster leadership?
Quote from: fieldafm on December 26, 2014, 01:02:56 PM
Quote from: strider on December 26, 2014, 12:34:44 PM
The odds are that those projects ripe for cutting because they have been "steered aimlessly among a sea of lax fiscal management" are also the ones the right people want the most. Even Lori Boyer has proven that she knows she must go along to get anything at all for her district so looking for great reforms from her or Crescimbini will lead nowhere but to disappointment.
If we elect better, if we care more, if time moves a few of the right people out of their power positions, we may eventually see real change and real movement forward. It won't be soon however.
Revenues decreased substantially for the past few years (this year there was a 3.5% increase in COJ revenues), while borrowing has drastically increased (sorry for not having the exact number in front of me). Meanwhile, you have a backlog of CIP projects that either never started, never got funded, had funds taken away from them inexplicably or wound up costing far more than they were supposed to.
Some spending and reserve accounts at COJ show there is money in the account, but there actually isn't. Some show projects have spent money, when they actually haven't. Some capital improvement projects show they spent x amount of dollars, when they actually spent more than x amount of dollars. Some worthwhile CIP projects were dropped, while other marginally important CIP projects were added. Meanwhile, borrowing against the banking fund (which is the credit card COJ uses to float capital improvement projects, which for the past few years has actually been used to balance the budget instead of funding CIP projects) keeps increasing. That's a pretty messy picture (and unsustainable to say the least).
Say you had a job making $40k/yr, then got laid off and took a job making $28k/yr and supplemented your expenses by using your credit cards. You charged $25k each of the last two years to those credit cards. Meanwhile your house needs a new roof that will cost $6k. You showed you had $4k in your checking account and $2k in a savings account and the roofer needs $3,400 deposit to start repairing your leaky roof... but you suddenly bounced a check when you went to pay the roofer. At that point, the wise thing to do would be to step back and figure out what the heck is going on and completely re-examine your entire financial picture. What expenses do you really need to pay for (do I really need to keep charging $6k a year to my credit card for new clothes when my car needs $2k in repairs)? Why does my checking account show $4k but I can't cover a check for $3,400... and why doesn't my $2k savings account draw against the difference (my savings account acts as my overdraft according to the bank, what gives)? Should I really be taking on more credit card debt, or do I need to take a part time job for a second source of income? Certainly, the answer shouldn't be to continue with business as usual, because something is obviously very wrong.
That's what Boyer, Crescimbini, et al are doing. Not sure how that can be criticized. That's just basic governance. Closing your eyes and continuing to shuffle curtains is not how to run your personal life, nonethless one of the largest municipal budgets in the country.
I actually like Lori Boyer and think she really does want to do a good job. Doesn't change the fact that she has had to learn how things work. If you haven't seen what I am talking about, you have your head in the sand.
In your scenario above, the 4K and the 2K were actually once there. You still show it to hide the fact you spent it on on-line gambling or that sexy call girl. That 6K for clothes, it wasn't for you, but your mistress. Of course, you are doing your best to hide all that from your wife. You don't have to figure much out, you already know all about it. You are really just trying to see how you can spin it and still get away with your bad behavior. That is a more accurate comparison to this city.
IMO far as running the basic operations of a city, for the most part we are getting by okay right now. When it comes to the bold downtown redevelopment plans, improvements to urban parks and roads etc, without any raising of any taxes we will continue to be stagnated.
Quote from: I-10east on December 26, 2014, 09:16:17 PM
IMO far as running the basic operations of a city, for the most part we are getting by okay right now. When it comes to the bold downtown redevelopment plans, improvements to urban parks and roads etc, without any raising of any taxes we will continue to be stagnated.
I'd say there is a big fail on both parts. The pension fiasco is preventing getting the ship righted on any front.
Quote from: fieldafm on December 26, 2014, 08:59:51 AM
QuoteBold leadership by the City Council.
I have to disagree. Councilwoman Lori Boyer is actually going through decades worth of less than impressively-managed capital improvement projects and monies right now with a fine tooth comb. So much of that money has been transferred between accounts, swept away among changing political whims, spent whether it was actually there or not or simply vanished into thin air (with lots of inter-department finger pointing). She is doing the only real comprehensive fiscal management of the CIP money that has been done in years. If you look beyond the TU headline and have seen what she and others like John Crescimbini have accomplished first hand... it's really been some of the boldest work City Council has done in over a decade.
Boyer and Crescimbini have both been very impressive with their hawkish focus on this issue. They are rolling up their sleeves to try to get things right.. when a lot of this money has been allowed to be steered aimlessly among a sea of lax fiscal management.
Boyer has been impressive. When she was on Waterways she left the meeting to run upstairs and returned to show the Jacksonville Waterways Commissioners of a bait and switch move by the administration on a Backroom FIND project. Our property tax money. can't make this stuff up. Who should be fired not promoted?
As for the CIP this community also has to give super props to Connie Benham candidate for Dist.6 against Matt Schellenburg for pointing out the CIP and Banking Fund for years at city council meetings. Talk about hawkish. Crescimbeni is out with term limits but with Boyer Dist. 5 and and Benham Dist.6 on the council. WOW! Talk about some double B's (Budget Busters).
So does this mean that Jacksonville is going to sit stagnant, and if any projects come in that require city funding, they won't get off the ground because of no funds or the lack of funds?