The Taxpayers contribute about 80% of the money to fund the Police and Fire Pension system.  That’s right 80%!  Police and Fire participants in the pension plan ONLY CONTRIBUTE 10%.  The remainder comes from insurance premiums.

In spite of all this, Taxpayers only have a 40% say in how the Police and Fire Pension Fund is managed.  Of the five members who oversee  Police and Fire Pension Fund (PFPF), only two are appointed by City Council on behalf of the Taxpayer.  The  PFPF is poorly managed.  Administrative costs are high and the funds under perform relative to similar pension funds.

It is no coincidence that the PFPF fights every attempt at transparency as they collect high salaries and enjoy lucrative benefits.

At the very least, Taxpayers deserve to have a proportional representation on the PFPF board of trustees.  To that end, the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has adopted the following resolution.

Resolution adopted by Concerned Taxpayers of Duval Co. on January 9, 2012

To the Mayor and City Council ofJacksonvilleFL:

WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville (“City”) provides about 80% of the funds that are contributed from all sources to the Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund (“PFPF”), and this percentage is projected to increase; and

WHEREAS, the employees participating in the PFPF provide about 10% of the funds that are contributed from all sources to the PFPF, and this percentage is likely to decrease; and

WHEREAS, the remaining contributions to the PFPF principally come from premium taxes collected by the State respecting Duval County properties, and this percentage is also likely to decrease; and

WHEREAS, the PFPF is administered by a 5 member board of trustees, which invests assets, incurs liabilities, hires staff, and makes various expenditures, which in recent years have exceeded $7 million per year, exclusive of benefit payments; and

WHEREAS, employees participating in (benefiting from) the PFPF elect 2 of the trustees of the PFPF, while the City Council, on behalf of the City, appoints 2 of the trustees of the PFPF; and

WHEREAS, those 4 trustees of the PFPF choose a 5th trustee, who the City Council must by law appoint (ratify) as a ministerial matter; and

WHEREAS, the City thus directly appoints only 2 out of 5 trustees of the PFPF, and thereby lacks the power to control the operations of the PFPF; and

WHEREAS, the City needs to have, and deserves to have, the chance to exercise control over PFPF operations, because the City provides 80% of all contributions to the PFPF, and thus all decisions by the PFPF trustees principally affect the City and its taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, State legislation adopted in 2011 empowers the City to modify local law to directly appoint 3 of 5 PFPF trustees (see Curtis Lee’s letter to City Council et al dated Dec. 7, 2011); and

WHEREAS, such a change is not only fair, but proper because the PFPF has very high operating costs, substantial waste and abuse, and poor investment results; i.e., it has a poor track record;

WHEREAS, all existing PFPF trustees and executives have served at least 5 years, and many have served more than 20 years, with the result being that all such incumbents are implicated in the waste, abuse and poor financial results that afflict the PFPF; and

WHEREAS, a failure by the City to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the 2011 State legislation will result in continued harm to City taxpayers, because the PFPF has a poor track record, and is very costly to taxpayers – the PFPF costs the City and its taxpayers over 8% of the City’s General Fund Budget currently, and such percentage is projected to increase;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council and administration should obtain legal opinions and take all necessary action to effectuate such changes in local law, and then should appoint 3 new trustees of the PFPF, with the objective of replacing current management of the PFPF, reducing costs, waste and abuse, and reforming the PFPF.

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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This is it! The final vote on the budget and property tax rate takes place this September 28th in Jacksonville City Council chambers. Between now and voting time, we need everyone to make at least one phone call, email or fax to their City Council members (remember you have six, one in your district and the five at large) and tell them the following:

• Unemployment in Duval County and Florida is at a record high level! (Florida Times Union 3/26/2010)
• Floridians’ personal income has taken a hit and is now near the bottom of the nation! (Jacksonville Business Journal 3/25/2010)
• Unemployment continues to rise! (Jacksonville Business Journal 7/16/2010)
• Now, Mayor John Peyton wants to convince City Council to increase his three new taxes and the property tax rate again!
• Our garbage tax has already been doubled!
• No more tax hikes!

In 2007, Peyton broke his promise not to raise taxes “on his watch” with the creation of three new taxes.

In 2008, Peyton and the City Council expanded spending with the new Jacksonville Journey entitlement program.

In 2009, Peyton broke his promise again with increased property taxes in the middle of the worst economy in decades.

Taxes and government spending in Jacksonville are at an all time high. The Jacksonville economy simply can not afford another tax increase by Peyton and the City Council.

It’s time to end the Jacksonville Journey, Jacksonville Children’s Commission, and Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and let the taxpayers decide for themselves in which charities and economic development they wish to participate.

Contact your council members by phone or e-mail.

Remember to show up in force on September 28, 2010 for the Team Taxpayer Tailgate Party!  For more information, go to the Concerned Taxpayers meetup site.

Here is a budget proposed by the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County.  You can read more about this budget in the article in the Jacksonville Liberty Journal (page 1 and 6) that further explains the rationale used to develop it.  We need real spending cuts, not tax rate increases!

The City’s Budget vs. What We Can Afford

Vice President Dave Smith, Treasurer Curtis Wolf and Secretary Conrad Markle talk about recent city budget workshops.

Vice President Dave Smith, Treasurer Curtis Wolf and Secretary Conrad Markle talk about recent city budget workshops.

Vice President Dave Smith, Treasurer Curtis Wolf and Secretary Conrad Markle talk about recent city budget workshops.

2010 will be a tough year for Jacksonville city government.  With revenues down, hard choices will need to be made on the spending priorities of city government.  Of course, it would be easier for the politicians to avoid these tough decisions by raising your taxes.  If you do not want to pay more taxes, here is your opportunity to let them know that they will be held accountable if they avoid the difficult decisions that they were elected to make.   Don’t let them take the easy way out by raising your taxes.  For more information about the upcoming  budget workshops, see the city budget website.

Upcoming Budget Workshops

Thurs., 2/11/10 – 6-8 p.m.
CPAC District 2 Budget Workshop
Blue Cypress Community Center
4012 University Blvd. N.

Sat., 2/27/10 – 9:30-11:30 a.m.
CPAC District 4 Budget Workshop
Cecil Community Center
13531 Lake Newman Drive

Sat., 3/06/10 – 9:30-11:30 a.m.
CPAC District 1 Budget Workshop
Jacksonville Children’s Commission
1095 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.

Thurs., 3/25/10 – 6-8 p.m.
CPAC District 5 Budget Workshop
Clanzel T. Brown Community Center
4545 Moncrief Road

Sat., 4/17/10 – 9:30-11:30 a.m.
CPAC District 3 Budget Workshop
Balis Community Center
1513 LaSalle Street

The Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County has released a report today on the 2009-2010 Jacksonville city budget. This report reflects our observations on the proposed budget and our recommendations for program cuts that could minimize or even eliminate the need for an increase in the millage rate. This report has been sent to the members of the Jacksonville City Council who will be deliberating on the budget this Thursday. You can view the report at http://jaxtaxpayers.org/pdfs/BudgetReviewReport.pdf.

Well, budget season is now upon us in Jacksonville.  In his recent budget address, Mayor John Peyton asked for a 12 percent increase in our millage rate.  According to Peyton, without this tax hike, we will have to make deep cuts in services vital to the Jacksonville taxpayer.  We are talking about closing fire stations.  Parks will become jungles without adequate landscaping.  Our streets will be overflowing with criminals if the Jacksonville Journey is not funded for another year.  Peyton’s speech enters the world of hyperbole when he stated “Is it your plan to shut down government?”. Chicken Little is no longer saying that the sky is falling. Instead, he just threw up his wings and left town.

What makes the budget process insane is that in a scant two weeks after the budget was unveiled, the City Council must decide what the initial millage rate will be for the city budget. Yes, that is two weeks to study the budget and determine if a millage rate increase is needed or whether more cuts in the budget are possible. Of course, the millage rate can be set lower later once budgets cuts have been identified. But once the genie is let out of the bottle by giving the mayor his millage rate increase, reducing it could be harder to do this once the mayor gets the momentum moving in his direction.

However, if we do not want the millage rate increase and we do not want the mayor’s three fees, we have to identify what to cut in the budget. The worst thing that we can do is to cut say 10 percent from everything in the budget. Not everything is equal in the budget. Public safety and roads are a far higher priority than the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and the Cultural Council. Prioritizing city spending is crucial as we must cut from the budget those expenditures that are superfluous to its city’s central mission of providing essential services utilized by the vast majority of the public that cannot be provided by the private sector.

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