JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — City Councilman Rory Diamond is looking to make big changes to Mayor Donna Deegan’s budgeting powers after reviewing her 2024 proposal.
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In a release obtained by Action News Jax’s Ben Becker -- after review of Mayor Donna Deegan’s proposed budget, Councilman Diamond is filing legislation and amendments to implement three budgetary control measures:
- Force the mayor to get council approval to transfer more than $100,000 between funds. This will require the Mayor to receive council approval prior to moving more than $99,999.99.
- A ban on future budgets from spending more than 1 percent of the city’s projected profits that year.
- Introduce an amendment banning any budget spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI). This includes any program or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
“The Mayor’s budget is almost $47,000,000 over-budget and does not present the conservative values of the people of Jacksonville,” Councilman Diamond said in a statement. “These new laws will ensure a balanced budget and tight fiscal control over our City’s finances. This is the only way to protect our tax payers from this wild, liberal spending.”
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Mayor Deegan released the following statement concerning the budget:
Great news: we just received our city’s credit ratings and Fitch bumped us up TWO levels from AA- to AA+! The other two agencies maintained our stable rating of AA. They based these ratings off our currently proposed budget and infrastructure spending, including funding for the stadium renovation. These agencies look at our current situation and at the future too. Jacksonville’s strong financial position means lower interest costs and more money back into city coffers to be spent on services for citizens.
You’re going to start hearing a lot about our proposed budget this week as the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee starts to review it. Know this: Jacksonville is on the precipice of greatness. The time is now to choose what kind of city we want to be. Our proposed budget is balanced, fiscally responsible, and focused on the greatest return for our citizens. Now is not the time to turn back from our bold vision.
Jacksonville’s general reserves are like our family savings account – there for tough budgets and unexpected circumstances. The annual budget has both used and replaced reserves 9 of the last 10 years. It’s a common practice. Even with a handful of one-time expenses covered by reserves, we still have double the amount we targeted.
— Mayor Donna Deegan
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