JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Mayor John Peyton will not spend any more than $200 million on constructing a new county courthouse, even though an advisory committee recommended Wednesday that the cost could be as much as $356 million. Peyton held a news conference Thursday to address the new courthouse issues, and he made it clear he would not spend more than $258 million on the project.

"At the end of the day I am accountable to the taxpayer," Peyton said. "I am responsible for the budget. I will take their recommendation under advisement, but in my mind the budget has been set. It has been cleared. It has not changed, and we will move forward under that premise."

Moving forward might mean building a courthouse only large enough to handle criminal cases. Peyton said the old courthouse has plenty of life left, and it could be used for all the civil cases.

That was one of the three options the committee proposed to Peyton Wednesday, at a cost of $320 million. Since the mayor said he won't spend a penny over $200 million, some are left wondering if the city will be able to take on such an ambitious project.

Peyton's office has proposed using the money levied from surcharges on traffic tickets. But it is something the City Council will have to decide.

"I am going to have to sit down with my colleagues and talk about that," said City Councilwoman Suzanne Jenkins. "I have always been a $211 million person. It does not mean I am going to support it. I want to understand the needs."

Right now all that there is to show for the $58 million that has already been invested in the project is an empty plot of grass where the proposed courthouse would rest. Peyton halted construction on the original plans for a new courthouse after construction costs continued to escalate.