JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A City Council committee has delayed a call to raise sales taxes to fill a $1.7 billion deficit in funding of the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund.
Efforts to increase the sales tax in Duval County by a half-cent won't happen because it appears too late to get the proposal on the ballot for city elections this spring, and an agreement for the city-owned utility to make a one-time, $120 million contribution to the city was approved by the JEA's board Tuesday.
City Councilman Bill Gulliford introduced legislation last week to let voters decide if a half-cent sales tax should be used to pay down the pension problem, but the rules committee on Tuesday voted against passing that bill as an emergency.
"This is going to turn into a political football, and the mayor is going to veto this and we are not going to be in an environment where it would get the consideration it probably deserves," Councilman Robin Lumb said.
"I don't like any of this. I really don't. I wish it would all go away," Gulliford said. "We've got $3,000, roughly, owed by every man, woman and child in the city for pension liability. We've got to stop talking about it and do something, and the options are extremely limited."
The committee will hold a special meeting on Friday to look at other available options available.
Those options looked a little brighter after the JEA board of directors agreed to that a $120-million contribution to the city's general fund in exchange for smaller annual contributions in the future. The deal could also involve moving the utility's workers to the city's pension plan.
"We're convinced this is the best option," said Chris Hand, Mayor Alvin Brown's chief of staff. "This is a way to deal with the pension fund issue without a tax increase.without a utility rate increase and to pay the money upfront. So there's no question going forward Jim about how are going to pay down this unfunded pension liability."