JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Donna Deegan will host another series of town halls, beginning Tuesday night, as she seeks public feedback on her nearly $2 billion proposal for Jacksonville’s budget.
The mayor is hoping there’s a strong turnout so city leaders and residents can get on the same page about the budget and the issues that matter most.
Deegan and the City Council are at odds over whether to lower the millage rate, which is how the city calculates your property taxes.
One mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 of your home’s value, so if your home is worth $200,000, one mill equals $200 in taxes.
The City Council has proposed lowering the millage rate by one-eighth to give money “back to the citizens,” but Deegan argues the cut won’t really do much for property tax bills and could hurt the ability to fund key city services that citizens have said they want.
The City Council’s version of the budget cuts more than $13 million from what Deegan proposed.
City Council President Kevin Carrico said the cuts made by the City Council Finance Committee don’t come at the expense of “essential services” but acknowledged that other city projects are on the chopping block.
“Our essential services are public safety first and foremost. That’s our responsibility as government: so police, fire, infrastructure needs, things that keep us safe,” Carrico said. “We can’t have potholes the size of Volkswagens. We have to fix that because that endangers us. Anything that’s safety, that’s essential.”
As far as other services like housing assistance and health care access?
“Everything else we have to look at openly and see if...that’s something we fund or not,” Carrico said.
But Deegan said affordable housing should be a priority, as it is one of the top issues vocalized by citizens.
“We hear all the time about infrastructure in the neighborhoods. We hear all the time about people that feel like their housing is out of control and unaffordable. You have to make sure that people understand that everything is predicated on how things affect our economy. And every time we don’t invest in these things, and every time that we have to pull money out of these things, it hurts our economy and it hurts our city,” Deegan said.
During Tuesday’s town hall, Deegan is expected to address several topics related to the budget, including city services, property taxes and affordable housing.
Each town hall will take place at 6 p.m. and is open to the public with no RSVP required.
Here are the locations of the town halls:
- Sept. 2: Mandarin Senior Center, 3848 Hartley Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257
- Sept. 4: First Coast High School, 590 Duval Station Road, Jacksonville, FL, 32218
- Sept. 11: Ed White High School, 1700 Old Middleburg Road. N., Jacksonville, FL, 32210
- Sept. 15: Fletcher High School, 700 Seagate Ave. Neptune Beach FL, 32266
- Sept. 17: Riverside High School, 1200 McDuff Ave. S., Jacksonville, FL, 32205
- Sept. 18: Fort Caroline Middle School, 3787 University Club Blvd., Jacksonville, FL, 32277
The City Council is set to vote on the budget before Oct. 1.