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.

Board members Tony Bates and John Winkler talk about corporate welfare and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.

• 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.

• Our website has been redesigned and streamlined with web analytics to track traffic to monitor effectiveness in getting people to read our position and educate the Taxpayers of Duval County.

• The focus on new media outreach on Facebook and Meetup has allowed us exposure into new markets that were previously unexploited. Several new members have joined through these venues. We are researching other means such as Twitter and Linked In to leverage new media most effectively.

• The new “hotline” phone number to report waste, fraud, abuse and tomfoolery is being actively used by the public and media to contact us to report issues and obtain our own in depth analysis.

• The JEDC audit is being conducted by the City Council Auditor Kirk Sherman is nearing its conclusion. This would not have happened without the hard work and dedication of our members lobbying council members Clay Yarborough and Glorious Johnson. This effort is being spearheaded by long time member Odile Gracey.

• This year our outreach to the media was the most aggressive and responsive. In many instances, members of the press contacted CTDC members of their own initiative to find out our position on the issues and to learn more about intricate legislation without spin from City Hall.

• We continue to air our cable access program on Thursdays at 7:30 PM on Comcast channel 25 with fresh content and engaging hosts and guests. Our Youtube channel is viewed frequently and we are researching ideas to bring the show to new venues. If you have any suggestions for topics or guests, please feel free to share them with us.

• Our membership continues to attend key meetings to make your voice heard. One of the high priorities has been an ethics reform with the restoration of an ethics code back into the City Charter.

• We are developing new marketing and outreach material, particularly large poster boards or displays for public outreach at civic events, trade shows and political gatherings.

WE CAN NOT DO THIS ALONE! Now more than ever your help is desperately needed. Please consider attending the annual General Membership meeting on Monday January 9th 2011 beginning at 6:00 PM at the Piccadilly at Lane and Ramona. This is the annual meeting of the general members where the leadership team is selected. Even if you cannot attend, please consider sending in an updated membership application with the minimum dues renewal of $15 so that we can continue to work for you.

Your organization is hard at work. With your help, next year will be our most productive. Two of our major goals will be the successful litigation of the Trail Ridge and Pension lawsuit. These projects are in desperate need of financial contributions to see them move forward. Any contribution toward this effort will go a long way. We are also looking for groups to partner with to sponsor either case financially.

This year I am challenging those who can afford it for a commitment to renew at a higher level so that we can more effectively fight for the Taxpayer. Your generous contribution of $20, $50 or $100 will help us to continue to fight on your behalf.

Please also remember that CTDC is a volunteer organization. We have no paid staff and rely on the spirit of community service of our volunteers. Your help is needed today for challenges that are too numerous to name in this letter. Please consider attending our next meeting and seeing how you can renew or strengthen your involvement or by using your financial resources to volunteer for you. Information on our meeting locations as well as directions can be found on the website at:

www.jaxtaxpayers.com

and

www.meetup.com/ConcernedTaxpayersDuvalCounty/

The bureaucrats and career politicians know that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County are always watching their every move standing ready to call attention to their tomfoolery and chicanery. We will relentlessly pursue and prosecute the interests of the Taxpayer in this county with every fiber of our being and every resource at our disposal. Join the fight today with your generous contribution and membership renewal.

If you have any suggestions or input on how we should proceed as an organization, please feel free to contact me personally or attend the next meeting.

Best regards,

Victor Wilhelm Jr.
Immediate Past President
Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County
904-351-8126

Not so fast! A recent study appearing in the Harvard Business Review suggests that the secret to job growth is not in doling out tax breaks to big employers in an attempt to entice them to move to your city. If anything, cities with a lot of smaller firms tend to have higher job growth than cities with only a few large firms. Having a business environment that promotes entrepreneurship by reducing business startup and other small business costs imposed by the government is a far better way to improve the job situation in a city than tax incentives to larger established firms.

The benefits are not only in job creation, but also in product innovation. In the book From Poverty to Prosperity written by Arnold Kling and Nick Shulz, the authors argue that innovation does not tend to originate from established firms, but from entrepreneurs risking everything on a novel idea.  Established firms tend to be more conservative in their risk taking than entrepreneurs, but risk taking is essential for innovation.  So lots of entrepreneurs with big dreams lead to a lot more great ideas for goods and services that improve our lives.

I am sure that some government official is reading this and saying to himself “Maybe, we should increase the corporate welfare that is going to small businesses and entrepreneurs!”.  And he would be missing the point!  The best thing that the government can do is to provide the essential government services that cannot be provided by the free market and then get out of the way!

Here is one way for government to get out of the way of entrepreneurs.  When monks tried to sell simple coffins in Louisiana, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors threatened them with fines and jail time.  Their crime?  Not being part of the funeral parlor cartel that uses the government to protect itself from competition.  The free market does not need government help to weed out the entrepreneurs who do not provide anything of value to their customers that they cannot already find cheaper and better elsewhere.

A RESOLUTION OF THE CONCERNED TAXPAYERS OF DUVAL COUNTY IN OPPOSITION TO CITY COUNCIL BILL 2009-0940

Whereas City Council Bill 2009-0940 exempts the Gerdau Ameristeel steel plant located near Baldwin from paying the public service tax on electricity for five years; and

Whereas the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County supports low taxes but only when they are applied equally to all businesses and individuals subject to the tax; and

Whereas the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County opposes City Council legislation that is clearly tailored to providing a benefit to an individual business thereby ensuring city government a role in determining the winners and losers in the local economy;

Now therefore be it resolved that the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County opposes City Council Bill 2009-0940.

The resolution was read to City Council members at their January 12th meeting.