Jacksonville has a budget for the fiscal year beginning next Thursday.
Let’s get this out of the way first: It is not a $2 billion budget. That is what Mayor Donna Deegan, Democrat, calls it but she considers the general fund to be “the budget,” and the media parrots her without looking at the document itself.
The actual amount of the general government budget passed Tuesday is $4.6 billion. Add in the cost of the independent authorities such as the JEA and port authority and you have something around $9 billion.
No one in City Hall tried to minimize the budget that way decades ago. It is a recent fad.
The budget passed 18-1, with Council Member Rory Diamond voting against passage.
Diamond doesn’t like the handouts and giveaways. “He said it was “the worst night I’ve had on council. I’m so disgusted with (most) of the Republicans.”
His description of the new budget to Eye was unfiltered: “It’s filled with garbage,” he said. Example: “$22 million for downtown millionaires and billionaires.”
He also opposed the last-minute restoration of $5 million for “affordable” (subsidized) housing. It had been cut earlier in committee. Council members pointed out that the city has spent more than $100 million on affordable housing but a majority voted to include the additional spending in the budget.
It isn’t clear why taxpayers should pay for other people’s homes. There are plenty of charities dedicated to that end.
One is JWB Cares, part of the JWB realty companies. It provides $20,000 to eight different people each year for the purpose of making a down payment on a home. It does not get any money from the city government.
Other charitable organizations do likewise.
Deegan has told Eye that she prefers making homes more affordable by reducing government taxes and regulations that make homes more expensive rather than handing people money, but there is still a lot of money being given away by politicians.
Meanwhile, the indefatigable President Trump – while fighting terrorists, fighting to make world trade fair, protect the borders and repairing the nation’s showcase infrastructure – also is working to make housing affordable.
The local spending is in addition to “public service grants,” which are donations to various private organizations in the city and total about $7.2 million. This includes $500,000 to the United Way, so if you thought you didn’t contribute to the community chest, you’re wrong.
The total spending will not be an increase from the previous year, which is common for a budget that will be in effect when local officials stand for re-election.
To pay for all this munificence the council increased the property tax rate by 3.93 percent.
In November, there will be a proposal on the ballot to provide property tax relief for homeowners by increasing the homestead exemption. City Hall wants you to vote against the proposal, and the new budget calls for taxpayers to pay lobbyists to spread that message.
