Finance Committee Budget Hearing #4 - August 21, 2026
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Finance Committee Budget Hearing #4 – August 21, 2026
The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee met on August 21, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Council Chamber to review the proposed FY2026-27 budget for several independent authorities, departments, and agencies. Chair Will Lahnen presided. The meeting covered JAXPORT (JPA), JEA, JTA, Downtown Vision Inc., Downtown Investment Authority (DIA), Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs), Office of Economic Development (OED), Medical Examiner, Duval County Health Department, Neighborhoods Department, Housing Finance Authority, Office of Ethics, and Inspector General. A special item on Wolfson Children's Hospital was also addressed. The committee approved recommendations for JPA, JEA, and other entities, and passed two amendments by Chair Lane.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were noted; all agenda items were discussed individually.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
JAXPORT (JPA)
- Council Auditor Phillip Peterson presented JPA's proposed FY2026-27 budget, including a $186.5 million capital budget (up $13.4 million). Operating revenues projected at $20.4 million, driven by a new auto tenant and growth at Blunt Island. Net income before capital contributions: $14,982,006. Recommendations included correcting project descriptions and aligning state shared revenue with the city's budget. Council members praised JPA's leadership, diversification, and economic impact. The committee approved the recommendations unanimously.
JEA
- Peterson reviewed JEA's total budget of $3.15 billion (up $255 million), including a 7% electric rate increase and 8% water/wastewater rate increase effective October 1, 2026. The electric system capital budget is $612.9 million; water/wastewater capital is $579 million. JEA's contribution to the city's general fund is decreasing by $38.6 million due to a one-time $40 million payment in the prior year. Councilmember Diamond criticized the rate increase as a burden on ratepayers, noting that $140 million from JEA bills goes to the city. Councilmember Gay agreed. The committee noted that the JEA budget and debt ceiling bill (2026-512) will be taken up separately in September. No recommendations were made on JEA's budget.
JTA (including Gas Taxes and 5-Year Road Program)
- Peterson presented JTA's budget of $139.2 million (down $23.2 million). The bus division faces a $32.8 million projected deficit for the current fiscal year, driven by lower sales tax revenues, lower fare revenues, and higher costs. JTA has taken a $30 million line of credit. Planned route eliminations (18, 25, 32, 82) and service reductions were discussed. Councilmembers expressed deep concern about JTA's financial health, with several calling for monthly updates. The Skyway is winding down; Navi costs have been cut by half to $5 million. The committee discussed reopening the Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT2) interlocal agreement to reprioritize projects. No action was taken on JTA's budget, which will be considered as a separate bill.
Downtown Vision Inc. (DVI)
- DVI's proposed budget totals $3,077,798 (up $18,312). Revenue sources include a 1.1-mill assessment on downtown commercial and residential non-homestead properties ($2,186,964) and a city contribution of $823,834. Personnel costs increased due to a new VP of Urban Systems. No recommendations were made.
Wolfson Children's Hospital
- The committee revisited a tabled request for a $2 million incremental funding to draw down federal matching dollars. Councilmember Freeman and Council President Howland initially had concerns but after meetings learned that only municipality funds can serve as the match. The motion to add the term sheet passed unanimously.
Downtown Investment Authority (DIA) and Public Parking
- DIA's operating budget is $736,000 (down $10,000). The Downtown Economic Development Fund includes $25.8 million for the Shipyards and $3 million for Rise Doro, with no general fund impact. Parking garage operations were discussed; a new vendor (Lots Parking) was selected, and revenues are increasing. The North Bank CRA budget is $19.1 million, including repayment of loans from 11 East and Carling developments. The South Bank CRA budget is $7.5 million. Council President Howland praised the loan repayment mechanism.
Office of Economic Development (OED) and Cecil Commerce Center
- OED's budget is $3.3 million (up $244,000). The Cecil Commerce Center trust fund has $10.1 million in revenue, including $10.4 million from the Cosentino megasite sale. Funds will be used to replace debt for infrastructure projects. Councilmember Johnson and Freeman discussed workforce development initiatives.
Medical Examiner
- The Medical Examiner's budget is $7.9 million (up $810,000). Salary increases and new facility maintenance costs drove the increase. Council members praised the office's work and the new facility. The city can raise fees at any time before June 30 of any year.
Duval County Health Department
- Budget of $2,062,241 (up $100,000 for part-time OB/GYN providers). Councilmember Carlucci emphasized the importance of safety net clinics. Finance committee has fully funded the mayor's proposals for health clinics.
Neighborhoods Department
- Budget of $12.3 million (up $52,000). Discussion included praise for Al Ferraro, who is acting director of Administrative Services. Council members expressed support for his permanent appointment. The department oversees code compliance, housing, and mosquito control.
Housing Finance Authority (JHFA)
- Budget of $396,903. Recommendations to remove computer system maintenance allocation and increase bank service charges were approved unanimously.
Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Oversight
- Budget of $505,000 (net increase). Council members praised the office's responsiveness and training efforts.
Inspector General
- Budget of $1.167 million (up $19,000). The office is reorganizing to add a part-time position. Council members expressed strong support and indicated willingness to provide additional resources if needed.
Key Outcomes
- JPA Recommendations: Approved unanimously (no objections recorded).
- JEA Budget: No action; deferred to September finance committee.
- JTA Budget: No action; deferred to separate bill. Committee requested monthly financial updates.
- Wolfson Children's Hospital: Motion to add term sheet passed unanimously.
- Housing Finance Authority: Two auditor recommendations approved unanimously.
- Amendment 1 (Chair Lane): Remove $8.1 million (multi-year fund) and $1.1 million (downtown economic development fund) from contingencies to allow simple majority approval. Passed.
- Amendment 2 (Chair Lane): Remove $26 million for three public safety projects from schedule AF and file separate legislation for same purpose. Passed.
- Next Steps: Budget hearings continue Wednesday, August 26, 2026, with wrap-up day on Thursday, August 27, 2026 (JAA presentation). The committee will also consider the JEA debt ceiling bill and JTA budget in September.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to meeting four to discuss the fiscal year twenty-six and twenty-seven proposed budget by the finance committee. Let's start off with introductions to my left. Angela Moyer, budget officer. Mike Weinstein, Mayor's Office. Billy Peterson, Council Otter. Brian Parks, Council Auditors Office. Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Good morning, Rockmont Johnson, District 14. Good morning, Rory Diamond and George from District 13, the beaches. Good morning, Chris Miller at large group five. Will Lane in District 3. Terrence Freeman at large group one. Mike Gay, District 2. Randy White, District 12. Nick Holland at large, group three. Ron Salem, group two at large. All right, good morning, everybody. And happy game day. A couple admin notes. First off, we have no excuses for today. So because of that, our quorum is five. George does not count. I asked, he does not count as a part of our quorum. We have uh three of the independent authorities this morning. Immediately following that, we're gonna bring up the Wolfson's request for approximately two million dollars. This is one of our loose ends from uh day one. Again, there's no action on this unless someone makes uh a motion. But I did want to come back to that because we uh agreed to table that so council members could have more meetings to discuss that. So Wolfsons will be right after we finish the three independent authorities. Uh like I've done every other day. Just want to give a summary of where we are are at, specifically with the general fund budget. Uh so again, the mayor submitted a budget of 2.027 billion dollars. Uh already we have reviewed 88% of that budget, about $1.786 billion, and of that we have amended approximately 1% of that overall budget. So uh we uh we are down to uh today and then next Wednesday to go department by department, and then next Thursday, the agenda will be JAA coming in here to present their budget, and then it'll be wrap up day, which I will get more communications out to uh not just finance committee but all of our colleagues on how that process will work. Uh so with that I see no committee members in the queue. So I'll turn it over to uh Mr. Peterson to kick it off with Jack's port. Uh thank you, uh Mr. Green and uh Mr. Greavy for uh being here uh with us this morning as well. All right, so that takes us to page three of our handout. This is the JAX port uh proposed budget for 2627. Um it does show the 2526 budget, their actuals through eight months, where they project to finish the year, and then the 2627 budget along with comparisons. I'm gonna start on page four with explanations. Umperating revenues, their autos budget of 20.4 million is an increase of uh a little over four million year over year. That's primarily due to a new tenant that was planning to uh operate in the break bulk category, converting their line of business to autos. Uh, this will expect to generate an additional three and a half million um in auto revenue. There's also growth at the new Blunt Island Marine Terminal, Southeast Toyota facility, uh projected to increase revenues almost 500,000. Within the break bulk category, there is a decrease of a little over 800,000, and that is due to the conversion of that tenant to autos. Um that has a decline of 1.9 million in this category, uh, but there is an offset of 700 700,000 due to increased vessel activity for another tenant.
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