JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Outgoing Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown is saying his goodbyes to the city. Monday night, he released an email message touting the successes of his last four years in office.

In the message he addresses to "Friends," Brown called Jacksonville a "city on the move." He touted the partnerships he built that resulted in $40 million in community development improvements in neglected areas, such as Northwest Jacksonville. 

He also said that under his leadership, the city government's website was named the most transparent in the state of Florida.

Brown also said he's proud of the recently passed a pension reform deal.  

He closed the message saying, "With these and many more accomplishments in place, Jacksonville is positioned for even greater success, and I'm proud of what we've achieved." 

Mayor-elect Lenny Curry will be sworn into office on Wednesday. You can watch the ceremony live starting at 11 a.m. on Channel 4 and News4Jax.com.

Full message from Mayor Alvin Brown

June 29, 2015

Dear Friends:

My term in office serving the people of this great city as mayor of Jacksonville was a distinct honor, and I thank you for your support during these last four years. Despite the Great Recession forcing a large reduction in our workforce and millions in lost municipal revenue, we rallied together as a caring community. Through my administration's six priorities, we stabilized government operations and accomplished a comprehensive set of achievements that will pay dividends for taxpayers for decades.

From Downtown to the Beaches and Baldwin, and in every neighborhood in between, Jacksonville is a city on the move. We established the Downtown Investment Authority without spending new revenue. Through public-private partnerships, we invested $40 million in community development improvements in long-neglected neighborhoods and corridors in Northwest and East Jacksonville through my Renew Jax initiative. We improved the insurance safety ratings on the Westside, thus lowering homeowners insurance premiums by thousands of dollars. We attracted Greencore, an Ireland-based company to invest in North Jacksonville, and GE Oil & Gas to the Cecil Commerce Center. And, we reached a pivotal settlement with the City of Atlantic Beach, ending a dispute over solid waste tipping fees.

We created a public investment policy to encourage companies that invest in targeted areas to hire employees from areas with high underemployment. For example, Safari Land recently committed to hiring 40 percent of its workforce from Northwest Jacksonville as a condition of receiving economic incentives from the city. These and other long-term tools have created local jobs and will continue to ensure that small businesses have the opportunity to flourish. We have empowered small businesses with access to more city contracting opportunities. Along with public and private partners, we have announced more than two dozen economic development projects representing thousands of new jobs and a private capital investment of more than $780 million.

Jacksonville's financial wellbeing has benefited from the expertise of the city's Finance Department, having refinanced $1.3 billion for $160 million in present value savings to taxpayers over 30 years. Further, the City of Jacksonville was ranked first in the U.S. for investment performance in 2013 by Morningstar and as reported by CNBC.

Despite a daunting lack of resources, the staff and leadership within the city's operational units operated at top efficiency, leveraging their expertise and dedication for the greater good. As a direct result, the City of Jacksonville enjoys the following recognitions.

• "2012 IBM Smarter City" (Office Public Private Partnerships)
• "2012-2014 Top ‘Digital City' in the U.S. and ‘2015 Top 100 Innovative City'" (Information Technology Division [ITD])
• "2013 Animal Care Agency and Supervisor of the Year Awardee" (Regulatory Compliance)
• In 2014, the city's Planning & Development Department achieved unlimited accreditation by the International Accreditation Service.
• "2014-2015 Smart and Connected Community" for Telemedicine for championing the telehealth services pilot (ITD)
• "2014-2016 Citizen Engaged Community" (630-City)
• "2014 GroundWork USA" location and a "2015 USTA Best Facility Awardee" (Parks, Recreation and Community Services)
• Designated as one of 32 Rockefeller Foundation "Resilient Cities" in the world (Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Division)
• A "2014-2015 Top 100 Best Fleet in North America" (Intra-Governmental Services)
• In 2015, the city became fully self-insured with full IRS-mandated Reserves (Employee Services)
• In 2015, the city became one of two "GE Intelligent Pilot Cities" in the world (Public Works)

Through ITD, the city launched multiple award-winning mobile apps including JaxReady, MyJax, Fight Blight, JaxHapps and JaxFerry. A new Park Finder app will allow citizens to view and reserve amenities throughout the city. The long-desired Property Asset Management Optimization (PAMO) web tool will empower citizens, investors, planners, and policymakers to design long-term strategies that will eliminate blight at the neighborhood tract level. These services will be launched in the coming months.

We have made the government more transparent under JaxScore 2.0 – Jacksonville was named as the most transparent website in the state – and city employees more accountable under the JaxOps performance management system. I encourage you to visit JaxScore 2.0 often, as it is your window into continued city operations. We have begun the process of enterprise change management; so that future administrations will no longer have to endure the 1960s-era paper processes that make city transactions so difficult to track. Within 24 months, the entirety of the city's major functions will be automated, allowing information to be readily accessible to the public.

Thanks to a series of comprehensive programs that support our local service members, Jacksonville is the most "military-friendly city in the nation," having hosted 280 companies in annual job fairs for veterans. We have shown our profound appreciation for our military through our actions, through important initiatives such as the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and the Jacksonville Veterans Resource and Reintegration Center.

Working together, we've accomplished so much over the past four years, including:
• graduated more ex-offenders through our GED and Career Readiness programs than ever through our grants and juvenile services units;
• hosted Community Empowerment Days and Business Builders in the heart of the community;
• established the Jacksonville Day Resource Center for the homeless;
• established Learn2Earn, Mayor's Mentors, Youth Leadership Advisory Council and prevention and intervention programs;
• helped to fully fund and thus save Duval County JROTC programs at four high schools and several sports programs at middle schools;
• expanded the city's urban parks initiative;
• opened City Hall with such programs as Interfaith breakfasts, HonHers, Mayor's Trailblazer Awards, ICARE workshops, pastors' briefings, and Holidays at St. James;
• engaged civil society through NPHC organizations, nonprofits and social service organizations;
• reestablished the North West Jacksonville Economic Development Trust Fund Advisory Council;
• reestablished the health clinic at the Schell-Sweet Center on Edward Waters College's campus;
• established Operation Urban Blight which supported the City Council Ad-Hoc Blight Committee work with efforts such as the Tire and Sign buy-back, executive orders and legislation on blight, property and asset management;
• established the City's inaugural community wealth building taskforce, port taskforce, and global cities taskforce;
• supported national efforts such as My Brother's Keeper and the National Black Male Achievement Movement at the U.S. Conference of Mayors;
• moved the Department of Health's administrative and IT resources into a city facility so that it can now use the $1 million it was paying in rent to private parties and reinvest those dollars in the community;
• made city buildings more environmentally friendly and energy efficient; and
• generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact through sporting and entertainment events, thus improving quality of life.

And, after multiple attempts and many years of public debate, the City of Jacksonville now has pension reform that will ensure over $1.5 billion in estimated savings to taxpayers during the next 30 years. As a result, on June 25, 2015, Moody's announced its confirmation of the City's Aa2 rating and stable outlook as "credit positive," further stating that the "successful reform passage marks a final victory for outgoing Mayor Alvin Brown."

Not one of these achievments would have been possible without the talented team of civil servants who made working on behalf of the residents of this city a true joy. Your hard work and sacrifice made an immeasurable difference.

Together, we made great strides in our collective efforts to grow Jacksonville's reputation as a vital city on the move. We sparked a renaissance Downtown, breathing new life into our city's urban core. We grew economic development and job creation, putting forth a clear message that Jacksonville is open for business. We lifted up our city's military and veteran community, launching programs that support the success of those who serve and protect our nation. With these and many more accomplishments in place, Jacksonville is positioned for even greater success, and I'm proud of what we've achieved.

Again, thank you for your support over the last four years. It has been an honor to as your mayor. 

Sincerely,

Alvin Brown
Mayor