The Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee will wrap up its work on Thursday, in part because it doesn't really have a choice in the matter.
The committee has been holding hearings for almost a month but it has until Thursday afternoon to come up with a proposed budget for the full city council..
The full council will hold a public hearing and tentatively vote on the budget Tuesday night, but the Council Auditor's office needs the numbers by Thursday to complete its work on time.
The committee has added back about $50 million to the budget proposed by Mayor Alvin Brown. Council members have been sharply critical of the mayor's budget which included no new taxes, but also contained about $60 million of unspecified cuts.
After beginning the process with the threat of closing libraries, fire stations and community centers along with laying off hundreds of police officers council members added back the funding saying such budget cuts would be irresponsible.
On Wednesday, the committee returned most of the funding for the programs of the Jacksonville Journey anti-crime initiative. Some of the dollars were sent directly to the Jacksonville Children's Commission and the Sheriff. The Journey was already funneling the money to the Commission and Sheriff to operate the programs.
One issue brought up Wednesday coming up with a better way to find employment for ex-offenders.
Council member Robin Lumb says there is no program in Jacksonville that tries to directly link retrained ex-0ffenders with employers willing to hire them. He says that must change if there is going to be any progress in getting ex-offenders jobs so they are less likely to recommit crimes.
CORRECTION: This story previously incorrectly stated when the vote on the final millage rate will take place. The final millage rate will be voted on September 24.
