JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville city council members met inside City Hall at 3:00 PM on Tuesday.
They left right after 4:30 AM on Wednesday, without any long breaks.
“It took over 13 hours to get to this point,” Councilmember Raul Arias said after the city council passed the city budget, “I knew someone was going to crack at some point.”
The city’s $2-billion budget was debated among city council members up until moments before the 15-2 vote to pass it was made right before 4:30 AM.
City councilmember Jimmy Peluso was one of the two council members who voted against the budget because of the $13 million property tax cut for homeowners that passed.
“I am still livid about how we got here,” Peluso told council members before the final vote, “we certainly don’t need a cut next year. That’s for damn sure.”
Action News Jax has been telling you about the possibility of the property tax cut for months, particularly some of the issues Jacksonville’s police and fire unions have had with it.
They told us they were worried the $13 million cut from the budget would take away money from the city’s public safety services, but the city council passed the cut with the promise of using money from city reserves to make sure first responders don’t lose any money.
“We passed a budget. We got a tax cut. Probably the most two most important things that we did tonight,” Councilmember Ron Salem said after the budget passed, when we asked him about the property tax cut.
Part of the reason city council members were at city hall until the early hours of the morning was because of the debate surrounding an amendment that would have banned the city from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) services, abortion-related services, and services for undocumented immigrants in Duval County.
At around 3:55 AM, Councilmember Will Lahnen flipped his vote after an hours-long deadlock, keeping the amendment out of the budget.
“It was clear we just were not going to be able to get it across the finish line and have a full vote,” Lahnen said.
Earlier in the night, the city council passed around $900,000 in funds to support affordable housing projects around Jacksonville. City council members also passed $370,000 to fund clinics for Jax Care Connect, a nonprofit helping those without health insurance have healthcare. A move to put $1.5 million toward a new city-wide virtual healthcare program, however, did not pass.
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Despite the late night, some council members left City Hall feeling proud of their fight.
“Ultimately, we delivered a product that is good for our city, it’s good for our taxpayers. It’s good for everybody in general,” Councilmember Raul Arias said.
Mayor Donna Deegan shared this statement with Action News Jax, responding to the passing of the budget:
“Thank you to the thousands of people who made their voices heard during the budget process. So many of you urged us to continue investing in Jacksonville’s momentum. While I’m disappointed by the millage rate vote, especially given the strong sentiments from the public, the City Council has fulfilled their primary responsibility to pass a budget. I respect their decision and their work. I’m especially grateful that they removed divisive and unnecessary policy amendments that should never have been included. We started yesterday with prayers from the faith community. I pray that we start to heal from this difficult budget season and move forward together with love for Jacksonville guiding us.”
The budget is set to go into effect on October 1st.
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