JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City Councilman Ron Salem wants to create a government efficiency initiative, also known as DOGE, in Duval County.
During a meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, the public had the chance to comment on the initiative and ask why and how Duval DOGE would work.
“DOGE is a misnomer, catchy misnomer for let’s see what we can take away from the working class, the needy, the elderly. All those. We don’t need it,” a speaker said.
The room was heavily packed with opposition, including many activists from Democratic-leaning groups who expressed their disapproval.
“I want to know exactly why is this committee being made? And I agree with Mr. Peluso. You don’t have every district represented here,” one of the speakers said.
Press play below to watch part of Tuesday’s public comment
DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has drawn lots of attention nationally and statewide with efforts championed by Elon Musk and Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate “unnecessary” spending to ensure government efficiency.
But Salem wants Jacksonville to have its own version: Duval DOGE that he says will have a key difference from federal DOGE.
“We’re not bringing anybody from the outside, like an Elon Musk or anybody,” Salem said. “This will be an internal process basically run by the council auditors and with the council, so there will be no dollars expended, extra dollars expended in order to try to save these dollars.”
Salem also said his recommendation for the effort is to leave out what many consider to be core government, including police, fire, and garbage collection.
While the room was filled with opponents during Tuesday’s meeting, there were few on hand who favored the push.
“Regardless of what you think of DOGE and Elon Musk, this can only help save taxpayer dollars. I think the biggest thing I’m hearing is DOGE derangement syndrome. The federal and state governments have instituted us and our beloved city should do the same as well,” a speaker in favor of the initiative said.
News4JAX Political Analyst Rick Mullaney, with the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute, said the amount of the city budget allocated for public safety is part of the issue when it comes to the challenges of spending, cuts and balancing a budget in local government.
Mullaney served under three administrations: Mayors Ed Austin, John Delaney and John Peyton.
“The bottom line when it comes to funding local government is it’s a real challenge,” Mullaney said. “The reason for that for Duval, as for any other county in the state, over 50% is typically public safety, and that’s the case here in Duval County. Of our nearly $2 billion budget, over a billion goes to public safety.”
Salem and council auditors explained last week that Duval DOGE would revisit a method used in 2007 and 2008. They said a percentage of department budgets would be initially removed and reviewed by council auditors.
A special committee could then decide whether to reinstate those funds, leave them unused, or allocate them elsewhere.
The committee is looking at seven things including:
- Analyzing credit and bank card use by government employees
- How government facilities are being used, including libraries
- How much money is being spent on children’s services
So would that mean people losing their government jobs?
“Well, depending on the extent of the deficits we have, there might be some belt-tightening that could include people,” Salem told News4JAX. “When you’ve got deficits like that, it’s hard not to make that kind of balance the budget, as we have to do in Jacksonville. We have a balanced budget, sometimes without involving people. They may be vacant positions that aren’t filled or various ways that you can cut positions without necessarily cutting people.”
But Mullaney said the city may have to make some tough decisions about how to handle the looming deficits expected during the next few years.
“You can tighten your belt, you can be efficient, you can have some savings, but often it means having to have some cuts. That is very difficult,” Mullaney said.
Mayor Donna Deagan said her administration, through the 904 Lean Initiative program, has been focused on improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of city government operations since she became mayor.
She said she hopes her team and the City Council can collaborate on efforts to make the city’s government more efficient.
Tuesday’s meeting was just the beginning of the process. This committee will make a recommendation to the full city council who will vote on whether to adopt DOGE in Duval County.
The city encouraged residents to give their opinions on the Duval DOGE initiative via email. Residents can email at DuvalDOGE@COJ.net.
