JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A Jacksonville City Council member is raising concerns about conditions inside City Hall and is asking to set aside five hundred thousand dollars to address them. District 14 councilman Rahman Johnson wants to consider moving the funds ahead of Tuesday\u2019s budget vote.<\/p>\n
Council members are preparing to review 11 floor amendments that could shift hundreds of thousands of dollars into separate accounts before the budget is finalized. Seven of those amendments were submitted by Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the ones I think that\u2019s getting the most attention is for a council refresh,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
The amendment calls for updates to council offices inside a building that leaders have used for decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told that carpets fading and carpet is tattered. There\u2019s mold in the chairs. They can\u2019t get them out. Desks are falling apart, conference tables,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
The funding would come from the public safety contingency fund. He says the fund\u2019s name does not reflect its original intent, and that part of it was meant for council projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the original budget that the administration submitted to the City Council for us to adopt, that specific original budget had ten million dollars for council contingency initiatives,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Other council members have also proposed amendments requesting money from the same fund. Municipal dues and subscriptions total about two hundred thousand dollars, and affordable housing requests total more than four million nine hundred thousand dollars.<\/p>\n
Johnson says he submitted additional amendments for voter outreach, United Way\u2019s eviction diversion program and telehealth. All will be up for a vote Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
He says Florida\u2019s looming Amendment 3 vote could create future budget challenges. In a statement Friday, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said the amendment would force the council to cut about three hundred million dollars from the 2028 to 2029 budget if it passes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be years before we\u2019ll be able to realize any opportunity to do this work to ensure that the people\u2019s hall is to do the people\u2019s business,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Deegan hosted her final budget town hall Monday night. The city council meeting Tuesday begins at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
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