JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s official. About an hour after Action News Jax’s Ben Becker told you that Mayor Donna Deegan would veto the Meridian Waste contract for garbage collection, the mayor’s office sent a news release Monday afternoon confirming it.
It’s the first veto of Mayor Deegan’s administration and the first veto by a Jacksonville mayor since 2012.
The issue is whether the contract violates the city charter by violating the separation of powers among branches of government. The city’s general counsel, Michael Fackler, issued a memo last week outlining the concerns.
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Read: Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan may veto Meridian Waste contract legislation – Action News Jax
Ben Becker told you last month when the City Council approved the legislation, which gives Meridian Waste a 29% rate increase. That amounts to an additional $4 million per year for the next three years on top of increases built into the existing contract.
Deegan wanted a 5% increase.
“In vetoing this bill, I am holding true to my commitment to be fiscally responsible and always seek a return on investment for our citizens,” said Mayor Donna Deegan in a news release. “The dramatic increase passed by the City Council – with $4 million coming from reserves – is fiscally irresponsible and comes at the expense of city priorities like affordable housing and homelessness.”
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Should the City Council override this veto, the administration said it will not agree to pay the rate increase and will seek to “remedy the waste hauler rate review process moving forward.”
City Councilman Ron Salem issued this statement:
“The grandstanding on fiscal principle at the 11th hour from Mayor Deegan is spineless. Particularly, when she filed a $47 million unbalanced budget this summer and continues to squander taxpayer money on self-promotion like the hologram box of herself.
Despite the Mayor and her general counsel’s desires, my colleagues and I were elected to serve the same voters she was. They elected us to monitor her spending and assert ourselves on matters of physical policy when necessary. It is truly disheartening to watch a private business suffer in this instance because of an ego issue the Mayor has with the city council performing their job.”
The City Council meets again on Tuesday, Jan 14.
We’ll continue to update you on any new developments.
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