JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The battle over a proposed property tax cut is heating up less than a week before the vote is set to be taken, which could lock in the reduction.
Council member Jimmy Peluso (D-District 7) is making a final push to sway some of his colleagues on the proposed $13 million property tax cut, arguing the loss of funds could come at a big cost to local roads.
Busting out a list of more than 580 road resurfacing projects in the queue, Peluso noted the $22.5 million currently in the budget will only cover about 68 projects over the next year.
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He argued that the number could almost be doubled if the council took the money that would otherwise be lost due to the tax cut and put it towards road projects.
Peluso explained that while the property tax cut amounts to less than $2 a month in savings for the average homeowner, the long-term consequences of the reduction would result in the city losing a combined $76 million over the next five years.
“I don’t believe that enough residents in this city want to get $2 back a month to forfeit hundreds of thousand to millions of dollars worth of public services that they should be getting and have been paying into. So, that is my big concern,” said Peluso.
But Council President Kevin Carrico (R-District 4) isn’t buying the argument.
He noted even with the tax cut, the budget fully funds the mayor’s $22.5 million ask for road resurfacing included in her budget proposal.
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Carrico indicated that if the mayor’s office is interested in negotiating to increase funding for street repaving, he’s open to the conversation.
“I looked at the numbers from the last year in office that Mayor Curry was here and he put $29 million. Mayor Deegan put 27 her first year in office, then 26 the second year and now 22. A conscious effort to fund other programs outside of road resurfacing,” said Carrico.
And as Democratic members make the case against the tax cut, the Florida Republican Party has launched a new ad campaign targeting key council districts in an effort to sway members to support the reduction.
“Waste and fraud in Jacksonville isn’t a hologram,” Florida GOP Chair Evan Power said in the new digital ad.
Carrico said he isn’t counting votes, but expects to see the property tax reduction solidified when it comes up next Tuesday.
“When I go to the grocery store and talk to people that voted me into office they’re asking for relief,” said Carrico.
But Peluso is optimistic that when council members dig into the numbers and see the projects left on the table in their districts, they’ll see things differently.
“I don’t know where Evan Power lives, but he doesn’t live in Jacksonville. He doesn’t drive on these roads. He doesn’t know a thing about us. And so, when I see him showing up here saying that there’s waste in our budget, I’m not seeing it here,” said Peluso.
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