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YouTubeThe Pressing Millage Rate Question
Abel Harding
Merely one week after the Finance Committee voted to reject the Mayor's proposed millage rate hike, the full Jacksonville City Council will meet to vote on the 12% increase. The debate, albeit brief, has been targeted, aggressive and, at times, personal.
Many have alleged that the Mayor strategically placed non-profit organizations with strong volunteer bases on the "endangered list", knowing full well that the non-profit groups would implore their donors to support the tax increase to preserve their funding. While initial reaction to the proposed increase was overwhelmingly negative, the Mayor has elicited a great deal of support in the last few weeks as these organizations have been successful in raising awareness among their supporters.
Jacksonville remains a community divided.
Up to this point, the debate has raged over the Mayor's assurance that he has cut all possible inefficiencies out of City Hall and any additional "savings" would have to be realized by slashing arts and cultural funding, human services funding and closing libraries and fire stations. The City Council will now determine whether that is indeed the case as they hammer together a budget over the next several months. Just as the Mayor was constitutionally obligated to submit a budget, the Council has an obligation to Jacksonville's citizens to take its time in determining the best course of action for the city. Their decision should not be rushed.
Despite the time afforded to work through the budget, the decision to determine the maximum millage rate is not one that can be put off---the Council will be forced to make that decision today. If the Council elects to forgo a millage increase and maintain the current rate, they will force tens of millions in cuts to the city's budget. If they are unable to identify sufficient areas to cut, or if negotiations with the city's unions do not fall in line with the Mayor's proposals, the Council could very well be forced to re-visit their millage rate-setting decision. According to Jim Overton, the Duval County Property Appraiser, if the Council is forced to come back and later raise the rate, it would cost the city in excess of $200,000.
While some members of the Council have implied that $200,000 is hardly a significant amount in a nearly $1 billion budget, it's hard to imagine that voters would be forgiving of an expenditure of this size.
With that in mind, Council members need to carefully weigh their decision tonight. If they are confident in their ability to cut city spending without drastically impacting the quality of life in Jacksonville, it is likely that they will vote to maintain the current millage rate. If; however, they have reservations, they do have the option of opting for the higher cap in the short term. There will still be time over the next few months to identify savings that would prevent them from actually being forced to institute the maximum rate.
For Jacksonville residents, any decision to hike taxes is particularly bitter in light of the tens of millions of dollars wasted over the past decade on ill-advised investments and poorly-written contracts. These dollars have been lost on projects like the Duval County Courthouse, the Shipyards, cost overruns at the Main Library, no-bid contracts and numerous other controversies. Yes, despite this irresponsible management of taxpayer dollars, voters have yet to really hold anyone---politicians or civil servants---accountable. Voters are now painfully aware that they can no longer continue to exercise such a lackluster interest in how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.
In these tough economic times, the City Council is certainly aware of increased voter scrutiny. While time remains to identify additional savings within the budget, the Council should avoid the potential wasting of taxpayer dollars---even an amount as supposedly insignificant as $200,000.
