JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former Mayor Lenny Curry continues to ‘make his mark’ on the city of Jacksonville… literally.
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A redacted paycheck from an anonymous City of Jacksonville employee obtained exclusively by Action News Jax bears the printed signatures of former Mayor Lenny Curry, former City CFO Patrick Greive, and former City Treasurer Paul Barrett.
The check, which is dated October of this year, was issued months after Mayor Donna Deegan entered office.
“Surprising, funny, comical,” said UNF political science professor Dr. Michael Binder.
Binder argued it’s understandable an administrative formality like this one may have slipped through the cracks.
“These are some of the little things in governance when you come in as a new administration that you’re not always thinking about. Right? There was shootings, there was murders, there was the stadium deal, there was a budget. Like there’s big deal issues you gotta think about,” said Binder. “Nobody considers switching over the signatures down in the accounting department for some checks.”
According to the Mayor’s Office, a total of 150 employees still opt for paper checks and the administration was aware of the old officials’ names still being printed on the checks.
In a statement, the mayor’s office explained the checks hadn’t been updated due to the timeline for confirming mayoral appointments.
“In the interest of cost savings and efficiency, the checks are being updated currently with Mayor Deegan and the new Treasurer that was recently confirmed by City Council. When the new CFO is confirmed in the coming months another signature line will be added,” said Deegan’s Chief Communications Officer Philip Perry.
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But are the checks valid?
According to the mayor’s office, the answer is yes.
“It’s up to the bank to actually clear that check,” said Adam Wolf, a financial expert with Wolf Retirement Navigation.
Wolf explained it’s unlikely a bank would reject the checks in this particular instance, but if employees do run into a problem, there are easy solutions.
“If all else fails, contact your HR, contact the issuer of the check, and or sign up for direct deposit, because that’s the easiest way.”
According to the mayor’s office, the newly updated checks with Deegan and the new treasurers’ signatures should be live and updated in time for the next city payroll.
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