55 (Thoughts) at 55 (Years of Consolidated Jacksonville)
The historic merger of Jacksonville and Duval County turned 55 years old on October 1. Among its other implications, the milestone anniversary provided a framework to write a regular column about Jacksonville government. Welcome to 55 at 55. Over the next year, I will share 55 insights, questions, or recommendations related to the Consolidated City of Jacksonville. For those of you who suddenly feel a headache or a deep sleep coming on, don’t worry — all 55 won’t arrive at once. Expect one column and a few observations each month, starting with these first five:
1. Keep it Real on Downtown Revitalization
When I first encountered The Emperor’s New Clothes as a child, I had no idea just how often I would be reminded of the tale in the government context. The latest reminder occurred last week, when Downtown Vision, Inc. released its latest State of Downtown Report. As Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe — Jacksonville’s edgier version of Hans Christian Andersen — opined after the report release, “Every year, Downtown Vision, the nonprofit that represents downtown property-owners, releases this report and every year it feels increasingly disconnected from the lived reality of actual downtown Jacksonville — a place most of us can plainly see is more desolate and hollowed out than at any other time in recent memory. There is never an acknowledgement of this, of course. These reports are pure triumphalism: the numbers are always bigger, the claims always bolder, everything always is great, on the rise, at the tipping point, an inflection point, transformational, catalytic, a sure bet.”
Nate and I have different styles but agree on his central point: The DVI report views Downtown with rose-colored glasses. With a nod to the Marx Brothers — “who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?” — the report is long on celebrating the city center and short on identifying its challenges. When DVI starts preparing its 2024 State of Downtown report, I hope it will consider discarding the current promotional approach in favor of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis that prioritizes citizen feedback. It would be helpful to know what DVI sees as the main impediments to Downtown revitalization and its recommendations for overcoming those obstacles. While I am a Downtown supporter who hopes to see the urban core realize its potential, I also believe success depends on spending as much energy identifying & addressing Downtown challenges as in promoting possible opportunities.
2. Replace the No-Bid Federal Lobbying, Policy, and Grant Contract
As David Bauerlein of the Florida Times-Union reported : “A Jacksonville firm whose owner hosted a campaign event for Mayor Donna Deegan in January has won a no-bid contract worth $300,000 for federal grant-writing, lobbying and policy development after the city determined no other firm in the nation could provide all those services. The city typically requires competitive bidding, but the Professional Services Evaluation Committee recommended Deegan approve the one-year contract to Langton Consulting without seeking proposals from any other firms.”
While procurement may not be the most exciting aspect of local government, it is one of the most important functions. Each year, the City of Jacksonville spends millions of dollars on goods and services. In order to ensure that taxpayers receive the best possible value for their investment, prospective contractors hoping to sell those goods or services to city government are typically required to participate in competitive bidding processes. Vendors submit proposals and, depending on the specific procurement approach utilized, the one offering the best price or best value wins the bid. For good reason, no-bid contracts are disfavored except in rare circumstances.
Since a contract for “federal grant-writing, lobbying and policy development” is usually not one of those circumstances, it would have been preferable for the Mayor’s Office to seek multiple bids for those services and enhance the likelihood of maximized taxpayer value. A competitive process would also have minimized the difficult optics of awarding a no-bid contract to a campaign contributor. Both the single-source procurement approach and the result have invited scrutiny, including from the City Council. On the day the story broke, Council Finance Committee Chair Nick Howland announced he was investigating the contract and invited members of the Deegan Administration to the November 7 Finance Committee meeting to discuss the no-bid award.
This kind of City Hall story can develop momentum and frustrate a mayoral administration for weeks, even months. The good news is that the problem is fixable by replacing the no-bid award with a competitive procurement process like the one used to engage state lobbyists. Given Mayor Deegan’s stated goal and what I believe is a sincere desire to change the City Hall culture, the administration should not spend more time or energy defending this contract. I recommend they put the requested services out to bid and move attention back to the mayor’s key priorities.
3. Strength in Numbers
Notwithstanding any questions surrounding the federal lobbying contract, Mayor Deegan has taken another important step toward enhancing the City of Jacksonville’s presence in Washington. In June 2023, then Mayor-elect Deegan attended the U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting and had a positive experience. Last month, the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee (MBRC) approved the transfer of funds so the City could renew its ties to the national mayoral organization. This renewed association will complement Jacksonville’s membership in the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, Florida League of Cities, and Florida Association of Counties (because of consolidation, Jacksonville is eligible for membership in both county and city organizations).
In my experience, the City achieves a substantial return on its investment in these institutions: Best practices from other local governments; Instant coalition partners on policy issues of shared interest or concern; Assistance with financial and technical assistance opportunities; Early warning of federal or state government actions that may impact cities or counties; and more.
Jacksonville has much to gain from working closely with other cities and counties in Florida and around the nation. Mayor Deegan’s decision to participate in the U.S. Conference of Mayors will put the City in an even better position to realize those benefits.
4. Independent Authority Elevates Airport Experience
When I was at City Hall, I enjoyed working with and learning from the independent authorities, all of which play crucial roles in our consolidated local government. My favorite was the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA), because when the phone rang about some independent authority-related challenge the Mayor’s Office might have to address, I knew JAA wouldn’t be on the other end of the line. JAA has long been a well-run organization, and it continues to enhance what I believe to be one of the city’s best assets: Jacksonville International Airport (JIA).
Now that the pandemic has abated and I am flying again, I have been reminded of my appreciation for JIA. While the overall air travel experience has its challenges, our community has a user-friendly airport from which to board and disembark. Apparently other travelers agree. As Tim Gibbons recently reported in the Jacksonville Business Journal, JIA has yet again ranked highly among medium-sized airports in the J.D. Power North American Airport Satisfaction Survey. This distinction follows similar praise in the 2022 survey and past recognition through the Airports Council International Air Quality Awards. With JIA scheduled to begin construction on the new Concourse B in 2024, the airport experience may soon reach an even higher cruising altitude.
5. Post of the Month: Dueling Committees
Hannah Holthaus of the Florida Times-Union recently reported that “less than one year after a City Council working group issued a 59-page report on homelessness and related initiatives”, it has formed another committee on homelessness. The new committee will be “dedicated to putting a price tag to potential solutions” and has been charged with “creating actionable items with a budgeted cost for implementation.” While it is fair to ask why cost and implementation were not part of the previous homelessness report, the new panel has already produced one deliverable.
I’ve known AG Gancarski of Florida Politics and Jacksonville Today for more than 33 years, ever since we were both Jacksonville high school students. In that time, I have always admired that AG is his own person and doesn’t worry too much if others understand or agree with him. Add to that a granular understanding of politics, government, and pop culture that few can match, and a tireless work ethic and prolific writing capacity, and AG is a must-follow byline. He is also a memorable social media presence. Imagine a cross between Hunter S. Thompson (minus the drugs and dislike for Richard Nixon) and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, and you can envision AG’s online avatar.
His posts often hit the bullseye, but few quite as perfectly as this reaction to Holthaus’ story about multiple homelessness committees.
Thank you for reading to the end. I did not intend to make this initial 55 at 55 seem as long as the five-and-a-half decades since Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated. Future editions (starting with December’s observations) will not test your patience quite as much. Please feel free to share any ideas you have for this column as I greatly welcome feedback. Until next time, many thanks to our veterans, best wishes to all for a very Happy Thanksgiving, and Go Jaguars!
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Chris Hand is a government law attorney who served as Chief of Staff at the City of Jacksonville from 2011–2015. He previously co-authored America, the Owner’s Manual: You Can Fight City Hall — and Win and authored the 50th anniversary update to A Quiet Revolution: The Consolidation of Jacksonville-Duval County & the Dynamics of Urban Political Reform.
