JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville’s new mayor rolled out her first budget proposal Monday.
Donna Deegan presented her spending priorities in three main areas: infrastructure, health, and the local economy.
Her budget is expected to total about $1.7 billion – slightly higher than last year’s.
She was met with applause when she announced she would boost the city’s mowing budget. She also said the city needs to address rising seas and temperatures.
The budgets sets aside millions for infrastructure and public safety, including more police officers.
Mayor Deegan set aside $7.8 million for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to add 40 new officers and 18-non-uniformed officers.
The Mayor's Office said those 18 non-uniformed officers will be civilian positions, including an internal auditor, recruiting administrator, and three community & media relations coordinator positions, among other jobs.
It also includes 66 new vehicles for JSO, and $3 million towards improvements for the police memorial building.
Mayor Deegan’s budget includes $26.8 million for road improvements – a 67% increase from last year.
And $13.6 million for sidewalk and crosswalk improvements – a 78% increase from the previous year.
She has previously presented on priorities for brick-and-mortar projects, with a $430 million draft-capital-improvement-budget last week.
It included nearly $30 million to build and improve fire stations and about $500,000 for maintenance of city pools.
Previously Deegan has said she will earmark $2 million to hire a professional negotiating firm to manage the city’s stadium talks with the Jaguars.
Mayor Deegan says she and her staff had two weeks to build the budget – and the work is far from being done.
“What has been most important for us is to start building those relationships, because when we look at the work that is being done now in the committees, the goal is to make sure that we can build upon that, and we have a lot of new and exciting initiatives in the city through this office," she said." What we’re looking at doing for this first little while is really taking everything in and then going forward, saying 'okay what can we do going forward that will make this even better than what we were able to craft in such a short period of time?'"
City Council has to approve the budget – once it’s approved it will go into effect October 1.
Sheriff T.K. Waters offered this statement on the budget proposal:
“Since I took office in November 2022, our team has been laser-focused on reducing violent crime, using innovative technologies and investigative techniques, promoting transparency, and fostering public trust. This proposed budget reflects this agency’s recent successes and allows it to address the ever-evolving needs of our community. This budget proposal is a testament to the City’s shared growth vision for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. This Wednesday evening, we will publicly share how we plan to use this budget to effectively and efficiently serve and protect our city.”