"Raising taxes at any time is very hard to swallow," Peyton said, noting rising gas and grocery costs and stats that show one in every 375 Duval County homes is in foreclosure. "Doing it now is just not an option."
Cutting Costs
Peyton's plan, which maintains the lowest property tax rate among large, urban areas in Florida, begins with a laundry list of budget reductions:- A $3 million reduction in Information Technology spending;
- A $3 million cut in fleet management costs involving a switch to electric and hybrid vehicles where appropriate and implementation of an anti-idling policy;
- A $2 million drop in insurance premiums based on actuarial studies and more effective claims management;
- A $500,000 savings that will result from adopting green practices with regard to HVAC and lighting choices, reducing paper use, and other changes;
- The elimination of 101 vacant, non-public safety positions and a hiring and salary freeze.
Taking Back our Town
Among the public safety initiatives in Peyton's budget is a $13.5 million cash infusion to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to fund new police, corrections and emergency communications officers and overtime pay to deploy existing police officers until the first of 80 new permanent officers hit the streets. The move is designed to combat Jacksonville's rising violent crime rate, which jumped 21 percent from 2006 to 2007, and help the River City shake its status as the state's murder capital. Duval County has led Florida counties in murders for eight straight years, and for 15 of the past 19 years."Jacksonville is becoming a city under siege," Peyton said. "The lawless are holding law abiding hostage. Lawbreakers are beginning to steal the quality of life that defines this community. This is not acceptable and we are going to take back our town."
Another $963,000 will be spent on crime haven elimination programs that involve non-police strategies designed to reduce violent crime in Jacksonville's toughest neighborhoods. Such strategies include code enforcement activities, housing and neighborhood beautification efforts and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) practices.
The proposed budget also calls for $1.8 million in commercial corridor and economic growth investments to create jobs in neighborhoods. Priority will go to neighborhoods already involved in economic development efforts to better leverage city funds.
Keeping Kids Safe
Peyton's plan also includes more than $15.7 million in after-school, early literacy and recreation programs designed to keep kids busy and productive after the final bell rings. A national survey of tenth graders found that, compared to students who spent five to 19 hours in weekly, school-sponsored activities, those who did not were 75 percent more likely to smoke or use drugs, 37 percent more likely to become teen parents, and 50 percent more likely to be arrested.Out of school suspension and truancy centers will help keep suspended students under close supervision and current on their school work. Truancy officers will pick up kids caught skipping class throughout the city during the school day. Such moves are aimed at reducing crime in surrounding neighborhoods and lowering the dropout rate of at-risk students.
Funds are allocated to reopen the Juvenile Assessment Center which closed several years ago. The facility provides a centralized intake and intervention location for youth who have committed or are likely to commit a crime. City-funded summer camps will be expanded from six to eight weeks and an expanded summer jobs program will provide teens with workplace skills.
Of these funds, $1 million will go to the Jacksonville Commitment, a scholarship program that ensures every Duval County high school senior who meets income and academic requirements is able to attend a local college.
Second Chances
For those who show a sincere desire to get back on the law-abiding track, more than $1.5 million of the proposed budget will focus on helping ex-offenders re-enter the community and job force. Related programs provide job readiness training, educational support and job placement services to former inmates, helping to ensure they won't return to a life of crime. Justice Department Statistics show more than 50 percent of ex-offenders are back in trouble within three years of release.Cleaning Up our Crown Jewel
Peyton's plan also involves continuation of the River Accord, which involves an investment of more than $700 million over ten years to restore the health of the lower St. Johns River basin."The river is sick," Peyton said, noting algae blooms that developed two years ago and the Health Department's labeling 54 of the river's 71 tributaries as unsafe or hazardous.
The investment is the largest in the St. Johns River's health since a $170 million restoration project that wrapped in 1977. The focus becomes all the more important as JaxPort opens trade lanes with Asia for the first time. And Peyton vows not to share the river's wealth.
"We are not going to put our community through the financial and political sacrifice necessary to improve our river, only to let Central and South Florida steal our precious water resources and pollute our river upstream," he said. "If they think that, they are in for a rude awakening and a big fight.
"Jacksonville is a city destined for greatness," he continued. "And it its up to us to remove the barriers that are holding her back."
Peyton's proposed budget is just that - proposed. It won't go into effect until an affirming vote by the Jacksonville City Council sometime in the next few months.