{"id":174615,"date":"2025-08-25T15:12:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/174615\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:12:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:12:19","slug":"florida-gop-jacksonville-city-council-republicans-take-stand-against-donna-deegans-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/174615\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida GOP, Jacksonville City Council Republicans take stand against Donna Deegan’s budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

With less than two years before the next local elections in Jacksonville<\/a><\/strong>, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF<\/strong><\/a>) sees a path to make Democrat Donna Deegan<\/strong><\/a> a one-term Mayor by painting her as a big spender out of step with local priorities.<\/p>\n

That was one takeaway from a meeting between RPOF Chair Evan Power<\/strong><\/a> and leaders on the GOP-dominated City Council.<\/p>\n

Power, along with President\u00a0Kevin Carrico<\/strong><\/a>, Vice President Nick Howland<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Finance Chair Raul Arias<\/strong><\/a>, are messaging around a 1\/8 mill property tax cut and paring down Deegan\u2019s proposed $2 billion-plus budget<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to stand with the people behind me who heard the call of their taxpayers that they wanted relief and they were willing to take the hard budget cuts and look at the waste and fraud and make difficult decisions,\u201d Power said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long across the state, while the state is the most efficient government in the country, local governments have been spending out of control. And every time you\u2019re over the target on cutting waste and fraud, they say you\u2019re cutting the central services.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Council members on hand offered complementary messages.<\/p>\n

Carrico noted that being a budget hawk isn\u2019t a Republican or Democratic issue, but instead \u201cis an issue for the people, based on the calls that we\u2019re getting, based on the concerns of our citizens, based on the conversations I\u2019m having out in the district where people are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTaxes are going up on their houses. Trim notices have been delivered. Relief is needed,\u201d Carrico added.<\/p>\n

Howland said constituents had their own problems budgeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cChicken used to be $3.99 a pound. A box of Cheerios used to be $1.99. Five years ago, the average home in Jacksonville was valued at $200,000. Now it\u2019s valued at $300,000. That\u2019s 8% annual growth. Over the same time, salaries in Florida have only grown 3 to 4% on average. It\u2019s simple. A dollar today doesn\u2019t go nearly as far as the dollar used to go five years ago. That means so many folks are struggling to keep up,\u201d Howland explained.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou need more dollars in your wallet to pay for groceries. You need more dollars in your wallet to pay homeowners\u2019 insurance. You need more dollars in your wallet to pay your property tax bill. But if governments go unchecked, they\u2019ll reach in and take more dollars out of your wallet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arias said \u201cthe mission\u201d for his committee during August deliberations \u201cwas simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was to lower taxes, to reduce debt and strengthen our reserves. This is literally the first time in quite some time that we\u2019ve done all three in one year,\u201d the Southside Republican said.<\/p>\n

Former Council President\u00a0Terrance Freeman<\/strong> characterized the process of budget deliberations this year as \u201casking tough questions so that the citizens in Jacksonville were fully aware of what was taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, part of the reason Jacksonville has a Democratic Mayor is because Republicans couldn\u2019t unite behind one candidate two years ago, with many crossing party lines to vote for Deegan in the May General Election.<\/p>\n

Asked how he would avoid that happening again, Power was circumspect, saying he would \u201clet the Primary process play out.\u201d He said the more immediate goal is \u201ctaking on these tough fights\u201d and \u201cexposing the horrific things the Deegan administration has done.\u201d<\/p>\n


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