JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s budget proposal remains a hot topic at City Hall, as the fight over taxpayer money intensifies.
City Council President Kevin Carrico is hosting a news conference on Monday where he is expected to lay out his “bold plan” to lower property taxes and eliminate what he calls unnecessary government spending.
Deegan and Carrico have been trading jabs over the proposed property tax cuts and what Carrico calls “politician perks.”
Carrico is pushing legislation to reform how city-owned venue tickets are handed out after introducing his own DEEGAN amendment, taking a direct swipe at the mayor.
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But Deegan has said she would consider legislation that would eliminate free tickets for city officials to all city events.
Late last week, the City Council’s Finance Committee voted to cut more than $38,000 in funding for the city’s suite at EverBank Stadium — a move that ends a 30-year tradition of both the mayor’s office and councilmembers having access to gameday seats.
City service funding
Beyond free event tickets, the battle continues between the council and the Mayor’s Office over funding for city services, with several health programs for the uninsured on the chopping block.
Programs like Healthlink JAX, Project Save Lives, and Dental Care Access could be fully eliminated. These initiatives provide uninsured residents with access to clinics, prescriptions, and preventive care.
Jax CareConnect told News4JAX that they’re still seeing high demand for referrals and say the need for their services is only growing.
Just last week, the finance committee reached an agreement to add back $1.7 million in funding for the Meals on Wheels program that had initially been among proposed cuts to the mayor’s budget.
The mayor’s administration originally asked for $2.1 million for senior services to combat food insecurity for the city’s elderly population.
Property tax cuts
When it comes to Carrico’s plan to cut property taxes, Deegan has called the proposal “fiscally irresponsible” and said she’s hopeful that the cuts will be rejected once it goes before the full city council in September.
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“I am sincerely hopeful that once it gets to the full council, that we’ll have less performers and more statesmen,” Deegan said. “This is clearly something that is just so fiscally irresponsible for us right now, and it frankly just doesn’t give any tax relief to speak of. It gives people a little more than a buck a month into their pockets, and it takes millions of dollars away from what we can spend on public safety, what we can spend on roads and sidewalks and potholes, and these are the things that people are telling us they want.”
Carrico, who represents District 4 on the Southside, pushed back against Deegan’s remarks on property tax cuts.
“There’s nothing performative about delivering real savings, millions of dollars of tax cuts to Jacksonville property owners who have been feeling the pinch or rising costs over the past few years,” he said. “Maybe it feels performative to someone who gets chauffeured around by a taxpayer–funded driver and doles out six-figure salaries to her friends – but it sure doesn’t feel that way to the working-class residents I represent.”
Carrico also said the Finance Committee has “identified tens of millions in unnecessary spending and waste inside the mayor’s own budget,” and said that money could be reallocated without sacrificing core services.
“City Council will do the work the mayor refuses to do – combing through the budget and finding real waste that can be trimmed while preserving police, fire and core city functions,” Carrico said. “Mayor Deegan should stop lecturing city council and start listening to the people who elected us. If she won’t take fiscal responsibility seriously, the council will.”
Deegan responded to Carrico’s statement:
“As I said in my comments yesterday, it’s my hope that we’ll have less performers and more statesmen as the budget moves to the full City Council in September. Council President Carrico’s disingenuous and divisive statement today emphasizes this point. People across the city are hurting while he cheers on millions of dollars in cuts to programs that make housing more affordable, reduce homelessness, and improve health care access. I look forward to discussing these adjustments to a well-developed, balanced budget with all 19 council members.”
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