‘A city on the rise’: Mayor Lenny Curry unveils his final $1.5 billion budget proposal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayor Lenny Curry unveiled his $1.5 billion budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year Thursday morning, closing his speech by saying Jacksonville “truly is a city on the rise.”

He attributed Jacksonville’s booming population and seven years of responsible fiscal policy to set the city up for continued growth, even in the face of uncertain economic times.

“Together, we successfully managed uncharted territory due to a global pandemic and very challenging economic conditions. This forced many city governments to declare a financial state of emergency. But here in Jacksonville, we not only survived, but we also thrived because we stood united for our city’s future,” said Curry.

Highlights of the proposal include a budget increase of $37.5 million for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and a $34.7 million increase for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

“We continue to work to build stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said Curry.

There’s $10 million for coastal resiliency projects to combat the effects of climate change and $108 million for park upgrades and renovations.

There’s also an additional $100 million for downtown revitalization projects, $10.8 million for sidewalk improvements, plus funding for the zoo, Florida Theatre, Jax Fairgrounds relocation, the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History and sports complexes.

“What people need to know and understand is, eight years ago we weren’t resurfacing roads, we weren’t taking care of our infrastructure, we weren’t focused on resiliency and flooding and parks and children’s programs,” said Curry.

The biggest highlight, a 1/8 reduction in the millage rate, is expected to reduce property tax increases by $10 to $11 million.

That doesn’t mean property taxes will go down; rather, you’ll just see less of an increase — a distinction acknowledged by the mayor.

“We can’t control property values. Property values are going to go up in good times, they’re going to go down in bad times, and we really don’t know where this economy is headed,” said Curry.

Still, if Curry’s proposal is adopted, it would be the first reduction in the millage rate since 2007.

“We do know there’s major inflation right now. We do know we’ve seen companies around the country start to lay people off. The one thing we can control here is the tax rate and that’s why we’ve cut it this year,” said Curry.

The budget proposal represents a nearly 50% increase in spending over the proposal made by Curry the year he took office.

Looking back at that first budget announcement in 2015, the mayor’s priorities focused on stabilizing the pension fund, paying off the city’s debts and ensuring city workers and first responders kept their jobs.

“Gone are the days of little to no budget discipline and sloppy accounting,” Curry said in his 2015 announcement.

Seven years later, the tone is quite different.

Curry now has a lot more money to play with and still save enough for a rainy day.

The city’s reserves have increased from $130 million to $347 million over Curry’s time in office.

“Our city has never had stronger finances than we do today,” said Curry.

Another contrast is that the city’s infrastructure budget was only $20 million before Curry came into office.

“We are now at half a billion dollars of investments in our city for the second year,” said Curry.

The city has also paid off $560 million in debt.

“We’ve lived through, in Jacksonville, an economic crisis where city government was squeezed and constrained, and they couldn’t provide services and they laid people off. We have set the city of Jacksonville up for the next mayor and the next council for whatever may come at them,” said Curry.

When asked about the accomplishment he’s most proud of, Curry highlighted his work with the Kids Hope Alliance, which helps troubled youth.

It’s a focus he’s held since that first year in office seven years ago.

“People see when you build buildings, they see when you do all this fancy stuff and I love that stuff, but we fundamentally reformed the way we provide services to our kids in Jacksonville.”

Of course, Curry’s budget is just a proposal.

The city council will have the final say on what makes it into the official budget.

Still, Curry’s final budget proposal as mayor reflects an optimistic fiscal picture for Jacksonville’s future.

He offered these words of advice to Jacksonville’s next mayor to close out his post-announcement press conference:

“Take the criticism, take the hits, take the scars and you’ll get some things done.”

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