Alvin Brown's Pension Reform: Here We Go Again...

[Metro Jacksonville]

Alvin Brown's Pension Reform: Here We Go Again...



While everyone in the city has been caught up in the latest round of murders, odd weather, and denunciations of local artists, attempting to do something interesting with the city, the new budget battle of the year is brewing. Alvin Brown, eager, yet again, is determined to ram his two-tiered labor agreement down the collective throat of the city, despite the city borrowing 1 billion to pay towards the "pension holidays" previous Mayors and Councils took, in October. At least that is what they said it was for. Editorial from Robert Montgomery

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-feb-alvin-browns-pension-reform-here-we-go-again-

[SunKing]

Spot on.

[mtraininjax]

Alvin Brown, eager, yet again, is determined to ram his two-tiered labor agreement down the collective throat of the city, despite the city borrowing 1 billion to pay towards the "pension holidays" previous Mayors and Councils took, in October.

Yup, 2nd time around.

[Redbaron616]

As for more new taxes, do you really want to start the slide toward Detroit? The higher taxes go, the more will leave to go elsewhere.

I am sure there are plenty of empires that have yet to be cut because someone in power is protecting them. Never believe the lie that government is cut to the bone because government is the one doing the cutting.

[theduvalprogressive]

6. Jacksonville, Fla.
> Taxes for family earning $25,000: $3,209 (25th lowest)
> Taxes for family earning $150,000: $10,049 (6th lowest)
> Unemployment rate: 8.3%

With the exception of the $25,000 tax bracket, families at every income level in Jacksonville paid below-average property taxes in 2012. A hypothetical family of three earning $50,000 paid less than $1,900 in property taxes that year. Jacksonville residents were also eligible for an up-to $50,000 homestead exemption on real estate taxes in 2012. The city was of only a few to offer such a deduction.Like the majority of large cities with the lowest taxes, Jacksonville is located in a state with no income tax. But while Florida's state gas tax of less than 15 cents a gallon was one of the lowest in the country, Jacksonville is one of only five cities considered with a local gasoline tax, charging about 14 additional cents on the gallon. Combined, the gas tax in the city was 28.8 cents per gallon in 2012, among the highest.



Read more: Cities With Highest (and Lowest) Taxes - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/special-report/2014/02/19/cities-paying-the-most-and-least-in-taxes/#ixzz2v22vR4W7
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The problem is we're not collecting the amount of taxes necessary to keep up with rising costs of even paying for basic, essential city services. The "pension holidays" we've taken in the past to keep tax rates low.

[Charles Hunter]

You don't get it, Robert, all taxes are eeevilll and of the devil.  We should not have ANY taxes.  And a strong police force to protect us.  And lots of firefighters in case my illegal leaf fire gets out of hand.  And make sure you get rid of all those potholes.

[vicupstate]

From that list in Robert's post, it is very clear that the low tax cities benefit very strongly from either very high levels of tourism (Vegas for example ) or oil/coal revenues in that state. 

Under no circumstance are taxes in Jacksonville high.  The drop in property values coupled with all the tax cuts under Delaney has lowered the burden from what was already a low level. 

[theduvalprogressive]

I'm not proposing raising taxes to par with the highest rates for cities in the country.

[civil42806]

I'm not proposing raising taxes to par with the highest rates for cities in the country.

awful big of you

[carpnter]

It looks like all the work the Mayor's Pension Task Force did was for nothing, it appears their recommendations are DOA. 
http://www.wokv.com/news/news/local/despite-final-task-force-recommendation-sales-tax-/nd7Lz/

[IrvAdams]

In the great tax debate, if you're wondering why taxes need to be raised here, one of the reasons has been pointed out many times in this forum: you're trying to support infrastructure and services across a huge city with an extremely sparse population. The basic math is inescapable.

[Tacachale]

It looks like all the work the Mayor's Pension Task Force did was for nothing, it appears their recommendations are DOA. 
http://www.wokv.com/news/news/local/despite-final-task-force-recommendation-sales-tax-/nd7Lz/

That's just fantastic. He brings together a good group of people, has them study the problem and find a workable solution, and then ignore it and just punt again. This, folks, is the level of leadership in the country's 11th biggest municipality.

[edjax]

I think he knows this stance is now his only chance of being reelected.  This man must go....and I voted for him last election. Will not make that mistake again regardless of the opponent. 

[theduvalprogressive]

Brown could break his "promise" and get reelected if he would take the responsible path and communicate why taxes need to be raised to the people directly. Like IrvAdams said supporting infrastructure and essential services require collecting tax revenue. Costs are not always going to remain low and thus revenue to meet rising expenses have to be collected.

[BridgeTroll]

It looks like all the work the Mayor's Pension Task Force did was for nothing, it appears their recommendations are DOA. 
http://www.wokv.com/news/news/local/despite-final-task-force-recommendation-sales-tax-/nd7Lz/

That's just fantastic. He brings together a good group of people, has them study the problem and find a workable solution, and then ignore it and just punt again. This, folks, is the level of leadership in the country's 11th biggest municipality.

He is just following the leader...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_on_Fiscal_Responsibility_and_Reform