City leaders eagerly awaiting Mayor’s budget proposal Monday amid slowing revenue increases

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — City leaders are anxiously awaiting the presentation of Mayor Donna Deegan’s budget proposal Monday to see how she plans to pay for several big-ticket items amid slowing revenue growth.

The City of Jacksonville is expected to see revenues increase this year, but not nearly as much as last year… $100 million less by most estimates.

The main driver: Slowing property value increases.

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The value of taxable property jumped only 6.1% this year, which is roughly half the increases seen in 2023 and 2022.

Jacksonville Property Appraiser Joyce Morgan noted it’s a sign the real estate market is returning to normal.

“Those were also years we went into COVID. Those were COVID years. Things were very different,” Morgan said.

As city leaders wait to see Mayor Donna Deegan’s budget proposal, which is expected to include historic raises and benefits for police and fire and $94 million for a community benefits agreement, they’re wondering how the city will be able to pay for it all given the drop in added revenues.

“It will be a challenging budget and it’s even more challenging as we look into the future,” Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) said.

Salem noted both the community benefits and the police and fire union contracts will commit the city to spending money for several years.

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He argued the union deal needs to happen, but to keep the city financially healthy, cuts to other items like the community benefits agreement could be necessary.

“I mean that comes right off the top of general revenue. Can we afford that?” Salem said.

Other council members like Rory Diamond (R-District 13) are even more skeptical of the city’s ability to continue piling on expensive projects and initiatives, especially given the recent nearly billion-dollar investment for the stadium renovation, fearing a tax increase in the coming years could be on the horizon.

“She’s going to eventually have to propose a tax increase. There’s no way you can pay for all this stuff the mayor wants without increasing taxes. You just can’t,” Diamond said.

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According to Mayor Deegan’s team, her budget proposal includes no tax increases.

As for how she plans to account for the lower revenue increases, her team told us we’ll just have to stay tuned for Monday.

“The City Council and community will learn more about our creative and innovative approach to this challenge when the Mayor delivers her budget address on Monday,” Deegan’s Chief Communications Officer Phillip Perry said in a statement.

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