What’s this? A glitch in the push to quickly double taxes
Apparently, several members of the City Council are having second thoughts about doubling the local option gas tax. Mayor Lenny “Hurry” Curry wants it done now. But Council Members Aaron Bowman, LeAnna Cumber, Al Ferraro, Joyce Morgan and Danny Becton said they would back a referendum if it were proposed, according to a local TV […]
Fernandina Beach residents deserve better treatment by city leaders
The Fernandina Beach City Commission Workshop of April 6 was a very disappointing meeting. I spoke for three minutes and was only able to relate my introduction and conclusion. Three minutes for each speaker is creating a spectacle for the public and not getting to the root of the issues. What is even more disappointing is […]
Fernandina Beach: Will the small island town be ‘upscaled’ by out of town city leaders?
I received this letter from Fernandina Beach resident Bob Reisner and he shared his thoughts on what he has observed in Fernandina Beach over the last couple of decades. He believes every one of the residents should voice their opinion to city leadership and explain why they should not grow government and taxes to change […]
City Council has a lot of spare time on its hands
What may be the ultimate example of virtue-signaling took place at Tuesday’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council. A resolution was introduced opposing violence. By approving it, the council would declare itself firmly on the side of 99.99 percent of the American population. Not exactly an example of a “profile in courage.” This particular violence […]
Another organization will be looking at local governance
There is a new eye on Jacksonville in the making. Jacksonville Community Council Inc., has been reborn. Ramon Day, who is well known around Jacksonville, is heading the venture. At the moment, it is only in the initial stages. Day read something in a small, liberal newspaper lamenting the demise of the old JCCI five […]
No need to hurry Mayor Curry: The latest effort to increase taxes
Perhaps having learned by the disastrous and hurried attempts to sell the JEA and enrich the Jacksonville Jaguars at public expense, local politicians are ramping up a sales pitch before increasing gas taxes. In 1983, the City Council enacted a 6-cent local option gas tax for a five-year period. Just two years later, the council […]
Public policy on transportation isn’t easy to understand
What is the city’s policy on parking? Or mass transportation? Figuring it out can give you a headache. City officials are spending millions of dollars to “calm traffic,” which means slow it down. This will include converting two one-way streets to two-way traffic, hiring a consultant to design the conversion – for $1 million. Why […]
Like a broken record, it is time to renew downtown again
Grab your wallets. Another plan to “revitalize” downtown is in the works. Taxpayers have been diverting money they need for their families to the city treasury for decades in order to “invest” in the downtown area. The effort began in the late 1940s under Mayor Haydon Burns and, arguably, downtown was a mess – then. […]
Fernandina Beach: Will the small island town be ‘upscaled’ by out of town city leaders?
I received this letter from Fernandina Beach resident Bob Reisner and he shared his thoughts on what he has observed in Fernandina Beach over the last couple of decades. He believes every one of the residents should voice their opinion to city leadership and explain why they should not grow government and taxes to change […]
Fernandina Beach: Bad budget practices cause money to pile up and politicians scurry to spend it
For years, city officials in Fernandina Beach have allowed reserves in the building department to build dramatically. Rather than refunding the money or lowering the fees charged to builders and developers, they have gone on a spending spree to get rid of the excess. In this year’s presentation on the building department budget, City Commissioners […]