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 […]
Few council members pass up free money
Members of City Council continue to enjoy automatic pay raises despite one member’s efforts to make them cast a public vote when they want more money. Council Member Rory Diamond lost, narrowly, in an attempt to force a vote recently but has vowed to continue his effort. The members apparently are tied to a state […]
City Haul: Flipping and flopping on policy can be expensive and stupid
Back in the 1950s, Jacksonville police recommended, and politicians approved, a new traffic scheme requiring traffic on many downtown streets to move in one direction, as well as feeder roads such as College and Post streets. The intent was to speed up the traffic, and it worked. In past years, the Riverside roads have been […]
Council says ‘nope to NOPE
City Council members will continue to have their pay increased automatically, at least for the time being. Council Member Rory Diamond is trying to put a stop to it, but lost one bid Tuesday when the council voted down his measure, called NOPE for No Obligatory Pay Enlargement. For anyone curious, this was the vote: […]
Gas Taxes for Jobs! The Mayor’s messaging is wrong again.
This whole “raising gas taxes” messaging is all over the place. The first “messaging campaign” was about the infrastructure needs and the septic tank issue. Now we are hearing how many jobs will be created by the raising of our local gas taxes. Me thinks that someone in charge of messaging is having trouble saying […]
Is Jacksonville destined to become the town of Cowford again?
Voting on the issue of changing school names is being held throughout the city, but there are indications that it is just political theater. Some are convinced the liberal School Board will change the names of nine local public schools no matter what the voters say. The estimated cost of $2 million seems irrelevant to […]
Fernandina Beach: The day the music died?
The beautiful town of Fernandina Beach is one of my favorite “go-to towns” when I want to get out of town and enjoy a more leisurely community. I love the downtown shops, the waterfront sunsets, and the vibe of different restaurants with unique and delicious foods and the music from local artists. But once again, […]
Hope for NOPE: Wounded bill still has a chance to pass
Tuesday, the City Council will vote on whether members will continue to get automatic pay raises. There seems to be some reluctance on the part of council members to give up this perk. Sponsor Rory Diamond thinks he has nine votes. It takes 10 to pass. He said he had 10, but one member flipped […]
Low taxes can be a sign of failure, or a source of pride
In their in-depth analysis of the city’s finances, the Jacksonville Civic Council has made a good case that the city enjoys low taxes and spends accordingly. However, the report treats this as a bad thing. If a city can keep up with its needs and still maintain a low level of taxation, most property owners […]
With gasoline prices rising, city officials want to bump gas taxes
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” — Ronald Reagan President Ronald Reagan’s famous, and accurate, comment about federal government programs applies equally well to local government, and to taxes. For […]