JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Donna Deegan and City Council President Kevin Carrico are trading jabs over the proposed property tax cut by the finance committee that was recommended hours before Florida DOGE arrived on Thursday.
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Deegan on Thursday called the proposal “fiscally irresponsible” and that she’s hopeful that the cuts will be rejected once it goes before the full city council in September.
“I am sincerely hopeful that once it gets to the full council, that we’ll have less performers and more statesmen,” Deegan said. “This is clearly something that is just so fiscally irresponsible for us right now, and it frankly just doesn’t give any tax relief to speak of. It gives people a little more than a buck a month into their pockets, and it takes millions of dollars away from what we can spend on public safety, what we can spend on roads and sidewalks and potholes, and these are the things that people are telling us they want.”
On Friday, Carrico, who represents District 4 on the Southside, pushed back against Deegan’s remarks.
“There’s nothing performative about delivering real savings, millions of dollars of tax cuts to Jacksonville property owners who have been feeling the pinch or rising costs over the past few years,” he said. “Maybe it feels performative to someone who gets chauffeured around by a taxpayer–funded driver and doles out six-figure salaries to her friends – but it sure doesn’t feel that way to the working-class residents I represent.”
Carrico also said the Finance Committee has “identified tens of millions in unnecessary spending and waste inside the mayor’s own budget,” and said that money could be reallocated without sacrificing core services.
“City Council will do the work the mayor refuses to do – combing through the budget and finding real waste that can be trimmed while preserving police, fire and core city functions,” Carrico said. “Mayor Deegan should stop lecturing city council and start listening to the people who elected us. If she won’t take fiscal responsibility seriously, the council will.”
Deegan responded to Carrico’s statement on Friday.
“As I said in my comments yesterday, it’s my hope that we’ll have less performers and more statesmen as the budget moves to the full City Council in September. Council President Carrico’s disingenuous and divisive statement today emphasizes this point. People across the city are hurting while he cheers on millions of dollars in cuts to programs that make housing more affordable, reduce homelessness, and improve healthcare access. I look forward to discussing these adjustments to a well-developed, balanced budget with all 19 council members.”
Jacksonville will hold its full city council meetings on Sept. 9 and 23 at 5 p.m.