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Jax Council Committees Need More Time On Mobility Fee Decision

Three Jacksonville City Council Committees have deferred a vote on legislation that would have waived the city’s mobility fee for three years.

Council members want to try and reach a short term compromise, while a task force is formed to take a longer look at the fee’s formula and structure.

The mobility fee waiver was being championed by local developers who say it would help bring much needed construction jobs to the city.  But opponents said the three year waiver was too long, and pushes paying for infrastructure improvements onto taxpayers.

The three-year waiver was getting lukewarm support from several council members so it was sent back to the committees for retooling.

In the meantime, Council President Bill Bishop says he wants to establish a task force to look into just how and why the fee is assessed.

Bishop says he wants to use members of the original 2030 mobility plan task force to look into the fees. That likely will take several months.

In the short run, Councilman John Crescimbeni says he’ll meet with the waivers opponents and advocates to see if compromise legislation can be reached.  He expects that should only take a couple of weeks.      

Kevin Meerschaert has left WJCT for new pursuits. He was the producer of First Coast Connect until October of 2018.