Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Despite Spending Increases, Mayor Brown Says Proposed Budget Won't Raise Taxes

Cyd Hoskinson / WJCT
/
WJCT

Mayor Alvin Brown unveiled a budget proposal for next year that he says won’t require any new taxes.

The $1.04 billion spending plan will fund improvements to downtown including The Landing, the Northbank Riverwalk and The Shipyards.

It also gives Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford enough money to hire an additional 40 police officers and 40 community service officers to help combat crime. It’s not enough, Rutherford said, but it’s better than nothing.

“Look, this is only 40 out of 147 that we’re short and 40 CSO’s out of 92, so we’re getting 80 of the 230 plus that we’re short. So, yes, it’s a good start but we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.
 
Last year’s budget was around $980,000,000, about $60,000,000 less than what’s being proposed for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

CLICK: See Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown's 2014-2015 budget proposal

You can follow Cyd Hoskinson on Twitter @cydwjctnews.

Cyd Hoskinson began working at WJCT on Valentine’s Day 2011.