Mayor playing defense on gas tax increase after poll setback
Eye on Jacksonville managed to break through Mayor Lenny Curry’s Wall of Silence this week by attending a town hall meeting on the Billion-Dollar Plan. We got an answer – sort of – to one of the questions we’ve been asking. City Council Member Randy DeFoor – who said she had not made a decision […]
Mayor’s lame sales pitch hasn’t yet convinced the voters to pay higher taxes
If a new poll is accurate, Mayor Lenny Curry’s sales pitch for doubling the gas tax is not going over very well. By a large margin, Jacksonville residents said no thank you to the proposal to double the local option gas tax while gas prices are soaring. Curry is calling it a jobs program but […]
From City Hall to the White House, the First Amendment is under attack and few seem to care
In Washington, the Biden administration is beginning to chip away at not only the Second Amendment, as expected, but also the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That’s not a “crazy, right-wing conspiracy” claim. The New York Times says so. The Biden White House increasingly is demanding to see and approve quotes made by officials […]
With time running out, there are still many questions about spending $2.2 billion on septic tanks
Do you ever get the feeling that politicians and bureaucrats spend all their waking hours dreaming up ways to spend your money? You will be forgiven if you do. There is no better example than the current effort to spend $2.2 billion to “solve” a problem that might not even be a major problem. Septic […]
350 Homeless/Near Homeless removed from streets of Fernandina Beach
Do you wonder why Fernandina Beach does not have a large homeless population. For one, we have an excellent Police Department and many support organizations on the island. One big impact is Henry Green and his nonprofit Grace and Gratitude Sober Living – a nonprofit halfway house. I met Henry this week and was captivated […]
Business leaders say: skimp on Skyway funding
Not surprisingly, an organization of local business leaders is supporting a proposal to double the local gasoline tax. In a letter to the mayor and City Council president, the Jacksonville Community Council President Jeanne Miller expressed support for the tax increase – which will generate local business – but knocked the idea of spending a […]
Money to burn: Spend it if you got it is the rule in city government
Local politicians never decline free money. There is some sitting on the table and they are acting fast. Tuesday night the City Council introduced a new bill that would spend $470,000 on another one of the endless “programs” that are supposed to reduce crime. Meanwhile, crime increases. But it was “free” money, trickling down from […]
Jacksonville will not be the next Venice anytime soon
First Coast News ran a story Wednesday that was baffling. It said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is predicting the sea level at Mayport will rise 7 feet by the end of this century. Not true, according to a Corps of Engineers spokesman. It quoted someone in the story, allegedly as “coastal engineer,” as […]
Publishing financial info in a timely manner seems to be a problem for City Haul
Once again, the annual audit of the city’s finances is late being published. This is in violation of the city’s charter. It may not be a big deal but it raises questions. Mayor Lenny Curry is an accountant. He certainly wouldn’t be expected to be lax about completing his own work. Why does he allow […]
Late efforts underway to prevent badly needed growth
Bills related to growth that were still active in the remaining days of the 2021 Florida Legislature could aid Northeast Florida but were drawing opposition from special interests. The bills would limit local governments from placing restrictions on growth such as impact fees. SB 750 on impact fees would make it more difficult for local governments to […]