JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In 13 days, newly minted Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan will have to have a budget ready to present to the city council.
Getting her priorities in place, plus getting a stadium deal ready, is going to be tricky.
Deegan talked at her inauguration about a new beginning for Jacksonville. That work started with the appointment of her new staff, including Karen Bowling, who is her chief administrative officer. Bowling held the same position under Mayor Alvin Brown.
Bowling said meeting with the city’s directors and chiefs is first on the agenda.
“We’ve already had some meetings, but I know that they have been just a little nervous about what to expect,” Bowling said. “And so the first thing is to sit down with them and have those discussions and get ready to move this city. I’m as optimistic as I’ve ever been about this city.”
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Deegan will lay out her plan for the city’s nearly $1.7 billion budget, but it will be up to the city council to say yes or no, and given the new make-up of the council, that could be a challenge.
But Republican Ron Salem, the new president, said he doesn’t expect to see a lot of headbutting going on.
“I’ve had great discussions with Mayor Deegan and Mike Weinstein, and I believe they’re going to put some things in the budget that people like me and my Republican colleagues want in the budget,” Salem said. “I’m hopeful that occurs and the budget process won’t be so contentious.”
Deegan has appointed a number of Republicans and former city council members to her staff, like Republican Al Ferraro, who also ran for mayor. He will now head up the city’s neighborhoods department.
“I want to see our city become a lot better, the visions that I had during my campaign are very similar on our infrastructure and to make our city better,” Ferraro said. “So I’m highly supportive of what the new administration is doing and anything I can do to help.”
And it’s his department that some council members will be looking to for changes in Jacksonville.
“Well, I’m concerned about all of Jacksonville, especially Northwest Jacksonville. There had been nothing for a long time, and I’m hoping that we can consider some resources and opportunities for people who live on that side of town,” Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said.
While the budget is first, Deegan also has the $2 billion stadium deal to work out, and she said she has to get input from the citizens before the city signs off on any deal.