The City Council Auditor has recently released the results of their audit of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.

The audit reinforces what we have been saying all along.  The promises made by the advocates of corporate welfare in the form of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission are often not delivered.  With over a decade long track record of corporate giveaways, handouts and bailouts, taxpayers have little to nothing to show for millions of dollars that have been “invested” .

We applaud the new mayoral administration’s proposed elimination of the JEDC but are skeptical of the dubious effort to re-brand corporate welfare as “public private partnerships” or P3s or PPPs.  Unfortunately the P3s being touted bear no resemblance to the Navy aircraft flying over the city.  Instead, P3s are just another euphemism for corporate welfare schemes where taxpayers bear all the risk of capital financing for a project and private individuals benefit when there (rarely) is a profit.

Now Mayor Brown has promised to reform the concept and focus on Downtown.   Haven’t we heard the broken promises before? Lavilla Redevelopment?  ? Lavilla BistroRiver City Renaissance?  Courthouse?  Genovar Hall?  Shipyards?  Skyway People Mover? Our own John Winkler has performed his own investigation to summarize the just a few of the failed promises of the sages at city hall.  The investigation is featured on our November show.

We do not doubt the sincerity of those who would like to see the urban core thrive.  In fact, we would like to see downtown turn into a prosperous area where people actually enjoy going.   Unfortunately, taxpayers can not afford to lose any more money on risky giveaways disguised as “investments” for some unquantifiable and intangible public good.

We urge Mayor Brown to reconsider the public dollar giveaway to the aspiring robber barons camouflaged as philanthropists.

Thanks for your past support of Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County (CTDC). It has been an exciting year for your organization. Our non-partisan and non-profit group is continuing to fill a valuable need for transparency and accountability in Jacksonville’s municipal government. This year, because of your generous contributions, the organization has accomplished more than it ever has. I wanted to take a moment to update you this year’s accomplishments by the organization that will hopefully help to renew your commitment to our cause. Here is just a brief list of this year’s achievements.

• The Candidate Committee headed by John Winkler interviewed several dozen candidates as well as obtaining their input from our questionnaire. This information was used by the committee to formulate recommended endorsements for the organization.

• The video interviews of the Candidate Committee were placed on the internet for any and all people to view and form their own opinions. This resource was praised by those in the community was being valuable and informative making voting decisions.

• We printed and distributed a combined 150,000 voter’s guide for this year’s local elections. This was a monumental effort never done by any organization. Although everyone did not agree with our endorsements, his literature was well received by nearly everyone who I spoke with.

• As part of the funding and distribution effort, we reached out and built coalitions with many members in the community that share our values in protecting the interests of Taxpayers. This has allowed us to share our message to a larger audience.

• CTDC has joined as a plaintiff to a lawsuit filed by our own pension expert and member Curt Lee. The suit seeks to stop the Police and Fire Pension Board and the City from continuing to illegally conduct negotiations in violation of state labor and open meeting laws. Recently a favorable ruling to allow the suit to continue forward was rendered by the judge in this case. This project is in need of generous member contributions to see it move forward effectively.

• The Trail Ridge lawsuit is still in the court system. With the new mayoral administration in place, we expect to have some movement in this case when the timing is most advantageous. Other groups have expressed interest in joining this cause as well. Please consider a donation to see that the Taxpayers can have their day in court to avert the injustice of this over $400 million no bid contract.

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The following resolutions were approved by the Board of Directors of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County on February 8th.

A RESOLUTION OF THE CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF DUVAL COUNTY IN SUPPORT OF ELECTED POSITIONS FOR DUVAL COUNTY

Whereas, it has not been demonstrated that the appointment of representatives of the People by the mayor creates a more efficient or responsive municipal government versus their election.

Whereas, history has demonstrated that the consolidation of the People’s representatives into fewer executive, legislative and judicial offices erodes accountability and responsiveness of governments.

Whereas, residents in Duval County have not expressed a desire of the appointment of offices that are currently elected.

Now therefore:

Be it resolved that the Concerned Taxpayer of Duval County supports the continued election of City Council, School Board, Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector and other offices as necessary.
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The newly redesigned website for Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has a web based content management system, a blog, online payment for membership fees, and links to their social network pages as well as the ability for readers to share content from the web site via their own social networks.

It is the mission of the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, Inc., to prevent, identify, and publicize all forms of fiscal waste, extravagance, and imprudence within and by the government which impacts residents of Duval County, Florida.

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