JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the Jacksonville City Council prepares to vote on a proposal to double the gas tax in Duval County next week, Mayor Lenny Curry expressed cautious optimism Thursday that the deal will get done.
Curry, who has championed the proposal to raise the gas tax from 6 cents to 12 cents to address infrastructure needs and bring jobs to the area, was asked about the upcoming vote and the parallels to the failed Lot J deal.
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“I think it’s time for them to make a decision,” Curry said of the council. “And as I’ve said before, push the red or the green button. I hope it’s the green button and the majority. I think this is big for Jacksonville and I feel good about the direction it’s headed. But you never know. I’ve been down this road before.”
Curry was also optimistic about the controversial plan to use millions of taxpayer dollars to help turn a parking lot at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium into an entertainment district. At one point that proposal looked like a done deal, but it eventually fell one vote short. In the aftermath, Curry said personal vendettas against him and his administration were to blame.
The City Council met Wednesday to discuss the gas tax that is expected to generate nearly $1 billion and approved amendments to include $132 million for the Emerald Trail and to set aside $250 million in proceeds for direct contracting to local small, emerging or disadvantaged businesses.
Last week, the City Council voted 16-2 to trim $132 million from the bill that would have been allocated to expand the JTA’s Skyway, though the bill still includes $247 million in funding that could be used to overhaul the seldom-used people mover.
The council on Wednesday also voted down an amendment that would have put the 6-cent hike in the gas tax to a voter referendum, a move Curry applauded on Thursday.
“The council’s elected to legislate, I was elected to lead the executive branch and introduce ideas and visions. If the idea is that anytime an idea is unpopular is going to go to a referendum, why do we have city council?” Curry said.
A poll of registered Duval County voters by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found a majority of respondents, 58%, either strongly or somewhat oppose the bill.
Members then voted 13-6 to advance the bill to a full vote at a special council meeting set for next Wednesday morning, according to reporting from the Florida Times-Union’s David Bauerlein.
State statute requires a majority plus one — 11 votes — to approve the gas tax increase.