OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Committee Meeting Summary: August 4, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, August 4, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 4, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 44:58
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:02

Welcome to the Finance Committee meeting.

0:04

We'll go ahead and start off with introductions starting to my left pretty Norris for the administration.

0:16

Colin Hamsey, Council Research.

0:20

Heather Reber, Council Auditor's Office.

0:24

Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the beaches.

0:27

Good afternoon, Chris Miller, at large group five.

0:29

Will Lane in District Three.

0:31

Terrence Freeman at large group one.

0:33

Mike Gay, District Two.

0:35

Randy White, District 12.

0:37

Nick Holland at large, group three.

0:39

Ron Salem, group two at large, just visiting.

0:42

All right, good afternoon, everybody.

0:44

Happy birthday to the Navy's little brother, the United States Coast Guard.

0:48

Let's see.

0:53

I guess so, Councilmember Diamond.

0:56

So what we're gonna do today, the order of events.

0:58

Uh first we're gonna take up uh JSO bill, which I'm always gonna try to do if there's a first respond uh first responder bill, try to get that taken up early in the agenda.

1:06

Then we have three CPAC representatives here today.

1:08

We're going to do 20 minutes each, CPAC 1, 2, and 3.

1:12

Then we're gonna do public comment as well as a presentation uh from uh our council auditor, Mr.

1:17

Peterson, and then we'll do the agenda.

1:20

So again, that's just the order of events.

1:22

Uh so we are gonna go straight to item 45 so we can have JSO talk to us about this bill, take action on it, and then they can get back to work.

1:29

So we're going to go to the second to last page, page 21, item 45, 2026 0586.

1:39

I got a motion and second on the emergency.

1:41

Mr.

1:41

Peterson, could you explain the emergency?

1:43

Or I'm sorry, Miss Rever.

1:46

The emergency has been requested since the district three substation lease will expire November 7th, and the Sheriff's Office will need uh to complete a bill of the new leased space.

1:56

Thank you.

1:57

I have no one in the queue.

1:58

All those in favor of the emergency, please say aye.

2:00

Aye, any opposed say nay.

2:01

Emergency passes.

2:04

I got a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency.

2:07

No one in the queue.

2:07

Open the ballot, record your vote.

2:14

Seven yay, zero nays.

2:16

Fire actions will be approved.

2:17

45.

2:18

Uh item 45, 2026, 586.

2:20

Thank you, JSO.

2:22

Uh I'm gonna turn over to the council president who's going to kick off the CPAC presentations for us.

2:28

Thank you, Mr.

2:28

Chair.

2:29

I appreciate that.

2:30

Um in my installation speech, I mentioned that this year we're gonna focus on making local government work better for you.

2:36

That is the people of Jacksonville and the taxpayers.

2:39

Uh and we made sure to note that that included our CPACs, making sure that our CPAC's voices are heard, because I think we've heard over the last year or two that they sometimes feel they don't have a seat at the table.

2:51

Um so I was very specific in that during the installation.

2:54

And um, we want to ensure we listen to CPAC's concerns.

2:57

There's there's no better time um than with finance committee coming into the budget hearing.

3:03

So what we set up uh through the finance chair was um three uh presentations for this meeting and three for the next meeting.

3:13

I think every uh CPAC will have 20 minutes to just talk about the things going on in their district that we should be mindful of in their region that we should be mindful of as we approach um setting the city's budget.

3:24

So we should have, if you don't mind raising your hand if um Ernest Smith is here from the Urban Core CPAC.

3:30

All right, thank you, sir.

3:32

How about um I see uh Mr.

3:34

Dickinson is here from CPAC uh District 2, Greater Arlington and Beaches, and then finally um Scott Kozloski, District 3.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████28%
Public Works████████████████16%
Parks and Recreation█████████████13%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Public Safety███████████11%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Transportation Safety███3%
Public Transportation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Committee Meeting Summary: August 4, 2026

The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee met on August 4, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting focused on presentations from Citizens Planning Advisory Committees (CPACs), a Council Auditor audit report, and action on numerous budget-related ordinances. The committee approved several items, deferred others, and heard discussion on administrative policies regarding council meetings with department heads.

Presentations from CPACs

  • District 1 Urban Core CPAC Chair Ernest Smith presented funding recommendations for the upcoming budget, including street paving, resiliency efforts regarding flooding, and Brentwood Park improvements. He specifically requested installation of curbs/gutters and repaving with brick on certain streets.
  • District 2 Greater Arlington/Beaches CPAC Chair Gary Dickinson could not present budget recommendations due to a lack of quorum at the last CPAC meeting; he will present at the next finance committee meeting.
  • District 3 Southeast CPAC had no representative in attendance.

Council Auditor Report #907: Property Appraiser Portability Calculation Audit

  • Council Auditor Phillip Peterson reported that the audit focused on the Save Our Homes portability transfer calculation. On the 2025 tax roll, 2,524 parcels received a portability transfer valued at $311,369,379.
  • The audit found that overall calculations were correct, but there were outdated standard operating procedures and two incorrect calculations out of 149 tested, resulting in under-billing of $1,518. Additionally, one out of 14 multiple-application tests showed over-billing of $664. The Property Appraiser's Office has corrected the errors and is implementing process improvements.

Discussion Items

  • Policy on Council Meetings with Department Heads: Councilmember Freeman expressed frustration that the administration requires a mayor's staff member to attend meetings between council members and department directors, particularly regarding budget discussions. He noted that previous department heads met with him alone. Brittany Norris stated the policy applies to all department heads and is aimed at ensuring consistent communication. Several council members voiced disagreement, and Council President Howland suggested exceptions for public safety. The issue was deferred for further discussion.
  • Item 31 – Jacksonville Riverfront Alliance (JRA) Funding: The committee approved an appropriation of $1,682,318 from the General Fund contingency, including $682,318 for JRA and $1,000,000 for maintenance of downtown parks. Parks Director Daryl Joseph explained the $1 million covers parks maintenance costs incurred while JRA contract terms were being negotiated. Discussion ensued about using $1 million below the line to offset next year's budget request for riverfront parks. The item passed 7-1, with Councilmember Diamond voting no.
  • Item 41 – Deep Bottom Creek Dredging: Councilmember Diamond noted that this $750,000 project using Council District 6 CBA funds is a one-time use and that there are many dredging needs citywide with insufficient CBA funds. Councilmember Miller acknowledged that smaller projects like this can be addressed, but larger ones require other partners.

Key Outcomes

  • Deferred Items: Several items were deferred at the request of council members or the DIA, including: 2024-0627, 2024-0966, 2025-0361, 2025-0775, 2026-0227, 2026-0318, 2026-0320, 2026-0377, and 2026-0541 (the 119 Beaver St redevelopment agreement with a $28.25 million completion grant).
  • Approved Items (all passed unanimously unless noted):
    • Item 23 (2026-0535): Appropriation of $390,000 for Trout River Blvd intersection and sidewalk improvements (amended, approved 8-0).
    • Item 24 (2026-0536): Appropriation of $3,950 for a local art show (amended, approved 8-0).
    • Item 25 (2026-0537): Forgiveness of FOP Foundation audit non-compliance (approved 8-0).
    • Item 26 (2026-0538): Correction of CIP budgeted projects ($21,019,214.38) with no net funding change (approved 8-0).
    • Item 27 (2026-0539): Appropriation of $115,000 for increased postage costs for the Tax Collector (approved 8-0).
    • Item 29 (2026-0542): Direct contract with I.M. Sulzbacher Center for $413,900 for 32 female shelter beds (amended, approved 8-0).
    • Item 30 (2026-0543): Appropriation of $150,000 to Zawyer Sports Foundation for Duval County Community Impact Initiative (amended, approved 8-0).
    • Item 31 (2026-0552): JRA and parks maintenance funding (amended, approved 7-1, Diamond dissenting).
    • Item 33 (2026-0571): Emergency appropriation of $150,000 to Salvation Army for Homeless to Work program (amended, approved 7-0).
    • Item 38 (2026-0577): Emergency appropriation of $50,000 to First Coast Crime Stoppers for Operation Community Shield (amended, approved 7-0).
    • Item 41 (2026-0580): Emergency appropriation of $750,000 for Deep Bottom Creek dredging (approved 7-0).
    • Item 45 (2026-0586): Emergency approval of a 10-year lease for JSO District 3 substation at $12,666.89/month (approved 7-0).
  • Items Read 2nd & Rerefered: Numerous budget-related ordinances (items 9-22, 32, 34-37, 39-40, 42-44, 46-47) were read a second time and rereferred to the full council with public hearings scheduled.

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Finance Committee meeting. We'll go ahead and start off with introductions starting to my left pretty Norris for the administration. Colin Hamsey, Council Research. Heather Reber, Council Auditor's Office. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the beaches. Good afternoon, Chris Miller, at large group five. Will Lane in District Three. Terrence Freeman at large group one. Mike Gay, District Two. Randy White, District 12. Nick Holland at large, group three. Ron Salem, group two at large, just visiting. All right, good afternoon, everybody. Happy birthday to the Navy's little brother, the United States Coast Guard. Let's see. I guess so, Councilmember Diamond. So what we're gonna do today, the order of events. Uh first we're gonna take up uh JSO bill, which I'm always gonna try to do if there's a first respond uh first responder bill, try to get that taken up early in the agenda. Then we have three CPAC representatives here today. We're going to do 20 minutes each, CPAC 1, 2, and 3. Then we're gonna do public comment as well as a presentation uh from uh our council auditor, Mr. Peterson, and then we'll do the agenda. So again, that's just the order of events. Uh so we are gonna go straight to item 45 so we can have JSO talk to us about this bill, take action on it, and then they can get back to work. So we're going to go to the second to last page, page 21, item 45, 2026 0586. I got a motion and second on the emergency. Mr. Peterson, could you explain the emergency? Or I'm sorry, Miss Rever. The emergency has been requested since the district three substation lease will expire November 7th, and the Sheriff's Office will need uh to complete a bill of the new leased space. Thank you. I have no one in the queue. All those in favor of the emergency, please say aye. Aye, any opposed say nay. Emergency passes. I got a motion and a second on the bill as an emergency. No one in the queue. Open the ballot, record your vote. Seven yay, zero nays. Fire actions will be approved. 45. Uh item 45, 2026, 586. Thank you, JSO. Uh I'm gonna turn over to the council president who's going to kick off the CPAC presentations for us. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. Um in my installation speech, I mentioned that this year we're gonna focus on making local government work better for you. That is the people of Jacksonville and the taxpayers.

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