Jacksonville's Retirement Reform Task Force presented their final recommendations for solving the city's pension troubles to top officials yesterday, but a consensus among those officials is unlikely.
The panel presented their findings to Mayor Alvin Brown, City Council President Bill Gulliford and Police and Fire Pension Fund Director John Keane Thursday morning.
Their suggestions included a half-cent sales tax hike, changes to future employees pensions and an increase in current employee pension contributions.
Mayor Brown says that a solution will be settled upon by the end of the year, but that he is opposed to a tax increase. Brown has proposed that JEA pay an additional $40 million a year to the city to help pay off the Police and Fire Pension Fund liability.
City Council President Bill Gulliford said that every option including a tax hike should be considered.
Joining guest host Fred Matthews on our regular Friday media roundtable to discuss this and other stories is our panel of local journalists:
- Kevin Meerschaert, WJCT senior reporter
- John Burr, Jacksonville Business Journal editor
- Nate Monroe, Florida Times-Union reporter
Additional topics include State Attorney Angela Corey’s letter to the Northeast Florida state legislative delegation detailing the office’s case against Marissa Alexander, the arrest of the artist known as Keith Haring's Ghost, and One Spark's announcement of a festival in Berlin later this year.
You can follow WJCT on Twitter @WJCTJax.
