Latest news with #R-Group2At-Large
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A tremendous hit': Jacksonville leaders take notice as governor pushes for end to property taxes
Florida already has no income tax, but Governor Ron DeSantis is currently flirting with the idea of abolishing property taxes as well. Tax watchdogs have argued local governments would stand to lose the most. Property taxes are a vital source of revenue for local governments in Florida, bringing in $55 billion a year according to Florida TaxWatch. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< But now Governor DeSantis has come out in support of putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot to abolish property taxes altogether. 'You have to continue to pony up money to the government just for the courtesy of using your own property. We don't tax like that in almost any other instance,' said DeSantis during a Monday press conference. Here in Jacksonville, property taxes on a home valued at $350,000 would cost a homeowner about $6,200 a year. Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) explained those revenues make up more than half of the city's total budget and fund everything from law enforcement to the school district. 'It would be a tremendous hit,' said Salem. Kurt Wenner with Florida TaxWatch explained property taxes have been on the rise. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] He said they've increased 39% over the last three years alone. He noted the only other revenue source even remotely comparable to property tax is sales tax. If property taxes were eliminated, he estimated sales taxes would likely have to more than double to make up the lost revenue, which would disproportionately impact lower-income Floridians. 'We do not have an income tax. Our wealth tax is a property tax. Everything else is on consumption. That tends to be regressive, meaning that people with lower incomes pay a higher percentage of their income on taxes,' said Wenner. 'Replacing the property tax with sales tax would certainly make it more regressive.' But the governor pushed back on the suggestion sales tax would have to be raised. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] In a post on social media, DeSantis said he would veto any effort to increase the state sales tax and suggested local governments could 'reduce bloat' instead. Salem said he believes more than anything else, the entire point of the debate over property taxes is meant to send a message to local governments to start tightening their purse strings. 'I just think that it's a wake-up call for local government,' said Salem. There are several bills dealing with property taxes already teed up for the upcoming legislative session. Among them are a study on eliminating property taxes, increasing the homestead exemption, and changing how property taxes can be assessed. It's still to be seen if a full elimination proposal will be filed. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'That is garbage': Mayor's office scraps change to council member communications after pushback
Tensions between the mayor's office and Jacksonville City Council are once again boiling over. This time, it's over a now-scrapped policy proposed by the mayor's office that would have restricted how council members could talk to city agencies to solve issues for constituents. When all else fails, constituents often contact their local council members to try and get results from their local government. Councilmember Nick Howland (R-Group 2 At-Large) argued the new communications policy put forth by the mayor's office threatened to undermine local elected officials' ability to solve those problems. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'They're throwing a barrier between council and the administration now and it's going to slow down productivity,' said Howland. Citing a change in state law and a desire to track member requests, the mayor's office's proposal would have required council members to submit requests through a system similar to the MyJax city services portal. 'We put forward a plan to streamline executive and legislative branch communications around constituent needs in an effort to bring more transparency and efficiency to the process,' the mayor's office said in a statement. Under the policy, city employees would also have to log any interactions with council members, get approval for requests that require department action, and would be instructed to 'not informally handle issues for council members'. 'When calls come in from council members, it's a distraction and they don't know what to prioritize and what have you,' said Mayor Donna Deegan's Chief of Staff Mike Weinstein during a meeting with council members on Monday. Read: Trash hauler Meridian Waste threatens to sue the City of Jacksonville Tensions boiled over during the meeting, with council members from both parties expressing frustration and concern the policy would hamstring their ability to get results for constituents. 'I've never felt like I was a distraction when I've communicated with your departments. That's a good thing, but I think if that's the mentality that y'all have, that needs to change. This communication process doesn't need to change, y'all's mentality needs to change. That is garbage,' said Councilmember Joe Carlucci (R-District 5). By the end of the meeting, Weinstein ultimately agreed to rescind the policy and work with council to improve the plan. Read: Judge tosses last charge against ex-prosecutor accused of misconduct in Ahmaud Arbery case Still, Howland questions the need for any change. 'Council members have found ways to be effective for their constituents. I don't think there needs to be anything done and I don't understand why there had to be in the first place,' said Howland. In a statement, the mayor's office noted after the communication plan was not well received by council members, it is now, 'Working closely with City Council on creating a policy that works for all parties'. Read: Army helicopter, plane collide: Remains of all 67 killed recovered [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
No confidence resolution filed targeting Jacksonville's top attorney
No confidence: that's the message one city councilmember wants their colleagues to send to the city's top attorney, General Counsel Michael Fackler. The spat between the city's top attorney and city council is coming to a head. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) filed a resolution Tuesday, that if approved, would express a vote of no confidence in Fackler. 'I think the council is extremely frustrated with his tenure,' said Salem. The resolution lays out several of the battles the council has fought with Fackler, starting with his opinion that green lit Mayor Donna Deegan's removal of the city's last public-facing Confederate monument. Following that battle, the city council went as far as to hire its own legal counsel. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'It seems like every significant challenge goes to the mayor's side and that's very disturbing. He's supposed to represent the entire city,' said Salem. The most recent dispute revolves around city council's decision to approve a $4 million contract boost for Meridian Waste. Fackler issued a binding opinion that determined the council doesn't have the authority to authorize the increase. That opinion gave the mayor the go ahead to withhold the extra funding, even though council overturned her initial veto. Now, Salem expects Meridian to sue the city to enforce the contract. 'If Meridian sues the city, he's gonna spend several hundred thousand dollars, if not more, defending a bad decision,' said Salem. Salem noted the resolution wouldn't carry any legal weight in terms of forcing Fackler out, but he said he hopes it pushes Fackler to resign or for the mayor to ask him to resign. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] But the mayor's office responded to the resolution with a statement backing Fackler. 'When calls didn't go the way of the Mayor's Office, we didn't call him biased. We respected his opinion. Under our charter, the Office of General Counsel is the glue that holds our Consolidated Government together,' said Deegan in the statement. 'Mr. Fackler has done exactly what he is supposed to do: make difficult and sometimes unpopular rulings based on the City Charter.' If Fackler stays, Salem suggested the council could consider legislation giving itself the ability to vote him out. 'That would be the last straw if we aren't able to resolve this in some other fashion,' said Salem. Fackler declined to comment directly on the resolution. Salem said he expects the resolution should come up for a final vote in six weeks. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
