Jacksonville slashes about 150 jobs from city workforce

[Noone]

Interesting that none of the City Council or their assistants would have to accept a pay cut or termination.  God forbid!

2012-202-Our council-Legislating for themselves.

Welfare- The Govt. will pay you if you don't work

Glorified Welfare- 2005-1007

Did any MJ'er participate in the JCCI study Our Money, Our City, Financing Jacksonville's Future?

The library system is not an Authority system.

The library system is not a constitutional office system.

The library is an organic cluster of diversity that touches every pocket of communication left to exist throughout Duval county for its residents and neighborhoods.

Library positions? Every constitutional officer will no longer have a personal vehicle. We are doing the budget right now aren't we.


FSCJ-Who at the top has been let go?
Is Tony Nelson JPA in Federal prison? Nobody knows.
JTA and the Board awards an unbelievable golden parachute for who and why? How much money? How many library positions would this have saved?
Palms Fish Camp- Wait and see who gets a million dollar payday for never even opening up the door.
Does anyone wish that we had that $4,000,000 back for the naming rights of the city owned stadium that we gave away?
2011-560
Sewer Water Authority? Anybody?

We are so broke. Out of control greed through legislative actions by both republicans and democrats over numerous administrations that has created an unsustainable path that is crushing the Public Trust.

So who wants to participate in a tactical urban Downtown kayaking trip that we will want to share with FIND as we attempt to transform the out of control Backroom deals that has crippled this community.

I'll take you to my favorite spot. Fishing under the brand new no new fishing signs that was never before the Jacksonville Waterways Commission.

I am Downtown with Mayor Brown.

So is publicly funding a pier welfare for fishing people and kayakers?

Sorry noone, but its really hard to make your points when you go off on rants like this.

are we going to pay people to fish in water that they shouldnt be eating the fish from?

Sounds like a terrible idea.

It's not a rant. You were there at that Urban Core CPAC meeting when the Administration (Riverkeeper) was asked during Q&A'S if a letter of support could be written and brought to the Jacksonville city council about the Shipyards III pier. The simple one word response was "Yes."

I'm sitting right next to Rosalyn Phillips, Pam Roman is there. The board and everyone in the room hears this great affirmative response.

So what has happened since. We need to transform the corruption that continues to permeate this community as it relates to economic opportunity. What's your take?

Why did Jacksonville leave $500,000 on the table with the last FIND grant cycle applications? Total crushing of the Public Trust.
So what do we have now? New legislation.

The pier is a Fantastic idea that the state of Florida will soon know about.

let's get to work.

[vicupstate]

Mtrain,

So people like Peyton and Hogan can run on a budget-cutting platform and then when elected, just do an about face once they realize they didn't know what they were talking about, and that the cuts genuinely cause damage.  But hey, they already won, right, so what's the problem.

Give me a break. 

Given Hogan was supported by FBC and the other most conservative elements of the political world in Jax, what solitary shread of evidence do you have that he would defy his political base to support the Human Rights Amendment? 

Likewise, given his backing by the Tea Party, etc., what evidence do you have that he would raise taxes instead of cutting the budget?

Anyone can make statements about what would have happened in a hypothetical situation.  It is something else to actually provide some basis for it.     

[Charles Hunter]

I don't think mtrain said Hogan wold have supported the HRC, but that Hogan would not have been absent on the issue - as Brown was (except possibly behind the scenes).  I fully believe that Hogan would have been out there speaking against it.

[duvaldude08]

My Bestfriend's mom work for the city and was one of the people who got laid off. She said they didnt find out until the read it online... Thats patheic. Its also said that the people that work for the city calls Alvin "low low" brown because he just stays looked in the office.

[mtraininjax]

So people like Peyton and Hogan can run on a budget-cutting platform and then when elected, just do an about face once they realize they didn't know what they were talking about, and that the cuts genuinely cause damage.  But hey, they already won, right, so what's the problem.

So Mayor Brown ran on the premise that he would be DIFFERENT for Jacksonville? He has proven that already, alienating the Jaguars, getting council members to do his dirty work for him behind the scenes, the courthouse continues to have problems, and he cannot balance a budget that is due in 2 weeks.

Yeah, Vic that sure is different from when Peyton ran the show....Sometimes you have to break pledges in order to do what is in the best interest of all the citizens. You say whatever you can to get elected, then the real job begins. Brown ran on lower taxes, new jobs, spending reductions. Exactly what Hogan and Peyton ran on, but Peyton did what was best for the City and the River, with the stormwater fees. The river has benefited. The City can benefit with leadership as well, the pension mess cannot be solved by kicking the can down the road, and I am pretty sure his plan will be to sell land to the pension group in exchange for contributions. Maybe Pension Fund people can develop the Shipyards?!

[vicupstate]

So people like Peyton and Hogan can run on a budget-cutting platform and then when elected, just do an about face once they realize they didn't know what they were talking about, and that the cuts genuinely cause damage.  But hey, they already won, right, so what's the problem.

So Mayor Brown ran on the premise that he would be DIFFERENT for Jacksonville? He has proven that already, alienating the Jaguars, getting council members to do his dirty work for him behind the scenes, the courthouse continues to have problems, and he cannot balance a budget that is due in 2 weeks.

Yeah, Vic that sure is different from when Peyton ran the show....Sometimes you have to break pledges in order to do what is in the best interest of all the citizens. You say whatever you can to get elected, then the real job begins. Brown ran on lower taxes, new jobs, spending reductions. Exactly what Hogan and Peyton ran on, but Peyton did what was best for the City and the River, with the stormwater fees. The river has benefited. The City can benefit with leadership as well, the pension mess cannot be solved by kicking the can down the road, and I am pretty sure his plan will be to sell land to the pension group in exchange for contributions. Maybe Pension Fund people can develop the Shipyards?!

Peyton didn't have problems with the courthouse??!!!  I guess you are a newcomer to Jax.

Okay, so it is perfectly okay and even expected that any candidate will say whatever they need, even to their stauchest supporters to win, but after that, they are free to broke any and all of them.  So basically it is just a contest to see who is coolest?

[Tacachale]

^I believe his point is that in at least some circumstances Peyton made the hard decision and did what was right for the city, rather than what he thought would benefit him most politically. That's something we haven't seen much of for the last 14 months.

[vicupstate]

^I believe his point is that in at least some circumstances Peyton made the hard decision and did what was right for the city, rather than what he thought would benefit him most politically. That's something we haven't seen much of for the last 14 months.

Yeah, Peyton did,... after he was term-limited.  If Peyton wanted to make a 'hard decision' he would have done something with the pension system while he was still in his last term. 

[Tacachale]

^I don't think anyone's arguing that. However, Peyton did prove capable of making tough calls that weren't politically expedient for him more than zero times.

[PeeJayEss]

I noticed, our great city has gone backward fast!

Is your assertion that Jacksonville was a great city before Brown was elected and now it is not? If so, there are a few problems with your chronology (and your characterization of "great").

[Timkin]

I noticed, our great city has gone backward fast!

Is your assertion that Jacksonville was a great city before Brown was elected and now it is not? If so, there are a few problems with your chronology (and your characterization of "great").

Jacksonville has been in a downward spiral for decades .  Mike Hogan would NOT have saved the day, despite anyone's view who favored him for Mayor.    Seriously,in hindsight, I doubt he would want the headache.

[Debbie Thompson]

^I don't think anyone's arguing that. However, Peyton did prove capable of making tough calls that weren't politically expedient for him more than zero times.

Is his first year?  I'm not arguing.  I really don't remember.  Did he make any hard calls when he was new on the job?  Someone mentioned the storm water fees.  Didn't the storm water fees come near the end of his 2nd term?

[Tacachale]

^I don't think anyone's arguing that. However, Peyton did prove capable of making tough calls that weren't politically expedient for him more than zero times.

Is his first year?  I'm not arguing.  I really don't remember.  Did he make any hard calls when he was new on the job?  Someone mentioned the storm water fees.  Didn't the storm water fees come near the end of his 2nd term?

There's no denying that Peyton certainly had a rough go of it, especially early on. At the same time, I don't recall him actively working behind the scenes to keep from having to make a decision. It's hard to imagine Peyton would have acted this way over the HRO (in fact, it's impossible to imagine that, since he supported it).

At any rate, Brown is actually in his second year now. To give it some perspective, in Ed Austin's second year, he developed the River City Renaissance plan, which raised $230 million for civic projects. While it had its share of negatives (the demolition of much of LaVilla), the bulk of the money went to such beneficial projects as rehabbing the St. James Building into City Hall (and thereby, eventually moving city hall off of valuable riverfront property), creating the Sulzbacher Center, the Times-Union Center (and expanding the Symphony), funding improvements at the Zoo, and committing money to renovating the Gator Bowl, which was key in getting us the Jaguars.  Would that we were in this position now.

[dougskiles]

At any rate, Brown is actually in his second term now.

You mean second "year"?  Or the implication that he is in his "final" term?

[Tacachale]

Thanks Doug, I meant second year. I fixed my post.