Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown says he will veto any attempt by City Council to pay down the city’s pension costs by way of a sales tax.
Brown made his views clear Wendesday night during the Council’s first round of discussions on his proposed pension reform legislation.
Casting a pall over Jacksonville's ability to plan for its financial future is a large unfunded pension liability, which is dragging down the city’s finances and downgrading its credit rating.
Mayor Alvin Brown joined Melissa Ross with his thoughts on the city's pension problems.
“It’s about our next generation, what kind of world will they inherit?” said Brown.
The Jacksonville Civic Council criticized the mayor's proposal in a letter to WJCT, saying it does not go far enough. The Civic Council said the mayor needs to cut the cost of living adjustment in the plan and eliminate the city’s DROP program. Brown called these claims factually incorrect.
“This new agreement is an improvement from over 2013. It generates approximately an additional $300 million to savings to taxpayers, and increases annual pension contribution of current employees to 10 percent,” he said.
Mayor Brown is trying form a partnership with JEA to help reduce its own pension costs and contribute to the savings to the city for the Police and Fire Pension Fund. Paul McElroy, CEO of JEA, told the Florida Times-Union that the savings would take years to materialize and the amount is uncertain.
Brown said his pension proposal would save tax payers at least a billion dollars over the next 35 years, and stabilized the city annual required payment to the pension fund.
“My job as mayor is to make the case to say look we don’t need to do anything else, but pass this plan to bring certainty in the marketplace, to make sure that Moody’s and Fitch don’t downgrade Jacksonville again in our ratings, and let’s do this right for the city,” he said.
You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax.
