Mayor pitches “Jobs for Jax” program as part of gas tax increase proposal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Thursday, Mayor Lenny Curry officially announced the “Jobs for Jax” program — a pitch for the increase of the gas tax.

Last week the Mayor’s Office announced that he wants to increase the current gas tax from 6-cents per gallon to 12-cents per gallon in order to fund infrastructure programs.

“The gas tax, in my view and our view, is the least painful to people and it spreads it out to people that travel into our city everyday, whether it be for work or tourism, use our roads, use our infrastructure,” Curry said.

The Jobs for Jax program lists over 70 projects that would be spread over the next five to six years. The projects are broken down into three categories: roadway improvement, drainage improvement, and JTA projects. The Mayor also wants most of the money from the gas tax fund to go towards septic tank removal. To complete all of the listed projects would cost $930,212,011.

The City also expects for over a thousand jobs to be created for residents in Jacksonville. Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford, says that they will work with local small businesses and contractors first in order to get these jobs and projects fulfilled.

Currently Duval County and St. Johns County has one of the lowest gas taxes in the metro area - both at 6-cents per gallon. Baker County has a gas tax of 7-cents per gallon, and Clay and Nassau Counties have a gas tax of 12-cents per gallon.

The legislation is expected to be introduced to City Council in April. The Mayor’s Office expects a vote to happen approximately in July. The gas increase would be implemented after the passing of the legislation and would be calculated in the upcoming 2021-2022 budget starting on October 1.

So far the proposal has the support from Council President Tommy Hazouri, Council Vice President Sam Newby, and Councilmembers Brenda Priestly Jackson, Ju’Coby Pittman, Reggie Gaffney, and Randy White.

“We’re trying to catch up on past failures of not addressing these last several mayors and city councils. And I think we’re going to make one giant step forward for for infrastructure as well as the citizens of Jacksonville,” Hazouri told Jacksonville’s Morning News.

Cox Media Group