Our outgoing Mayor has proposed to the tune of over $6 million of our tax dollars that we the taxpayers buy Everbank's relocation of 800 employees to one of Downtown's vacant highrises. The funds of which $2.75 million goes directly into Everbank's hands to pay for quote "leasing costs" come from JEDC. When JEDC was founded, (1996 I believe) it was specifically stated that these funds would not be used to attract companies to relocate from one section of Jacksonville to another. I work specifically in this arena, I represent tenants looking for office space and I represent building owners and their space and I have never heard of a City doing something like this for an existing tenant . Everbank will come from the I-95/Butler Corridor to Downtown Jacksonville at the expense of their landlord in the suburbs. Would Everbank do this without the money, who knows? They certainly have enough money of their own to do this without this handout.

Another $3.25 million dollars is to build a parking garage so Everbank can park presumably for free. Is this Toney Sleiman's garage? It is not, it is another concession to Everbank. Who will this benefit? Of course Everbank, but who else? First Coast News interviewed a hot dog vendor who said (I paraphrase) "it will be good for my business but I don't think taxpayer dollars should be used." This is a private business deal between landlord and a potential new tenant, no interference is necessary from Government and the Government is damaging the existing landlord by putting this "backroom" deal together.

We invite you to join our discussion on this subject already in progress on "Just Speak Up" heard Mon.-Fri. on AM600 WBOB at 12 o'clock Noon. Any of our Councilmen who are listening are invited to participate in the discussion also, that number is 904-854-1320. Please get involved on this one, let's hold the outgoing Mayor responsible and pray our City Councilmen will make the right decision.

Fiunally JEDC takes up this subject for the first time on June 9th at Jacksonville's City Hall Suite 400 at 9 AM. I'll be there will you?

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Comment by Patricia M. McBride on June 6, 2011 at 6:54am
Good suggestion Roma.  Some who still wish to speak in addition to chosen speakers could still speak, but as long as there was agreement on what was said by a spokesperson, it would shorten the time needed for comments and still get the point across!
Comment by Rod Morrill on June 6, 2011 at 1:19am

There a lot of good dicussion and discovery happening on this blog and it has developed into several topics all valuable and needing attention but the items, start to compete with each other and sometimes confuse the discussions.

There are some plans and action regarding the Everbang issue that start with some call-ins to the radio show at noon and that is jus a few hours away.

 

I don't know how to best branch these discussions into each of its important topics and must leave that to the experts of this blog.

 

I just chimed in with some of my known courses of action and have contacted City Council Members that I consider friendly to the people, the taxpayers, and started discussion and plans within the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County.

 

I am trying to put together some prepared attendees for the JEDC Meeting from within the CTDC and I saw some comments to do likewise within FCTP.  Both groups together could make a surprising impact on the JEDC and if we start our plans and actions we will be very ready for the next City Council Meeting, June 14, 5:00 PM at City Hall.

 

This is the first time and place anything can be introduced into the workings of City Council.

 

We can present our comments, and submit written comments for the record, to the City Council at the Public Comments time and what we present will be seen by the media and the people, the taxpayers, on the live broadcast of the City Council Meeting on the Comcast Cable System, before this scheme can even get to the committees the next week.  We then have the next two weeks to follow up to the people, the City Council Members, the media and the committees.

There is time to envolve the people and the media at the following City Council Meeting which would be the earliest opportunity for the Public Hearing for the action planned by the City Council.  We could have a real Tea Party event then if desired or needed.

 

These are the methods I am familiar with so I shared them here.

 

Rod

Comment by J.R. on June 5, 2011 at 6:27pm
My comment just below this one was in response to Roma's comment, not Chuck's.

Many thanks to Chuck and Colleen... and Just Speak Up!
Comment by J.R. on June 5, 2011 at 6:10pm
That's unfortunate. Given proof of the Weavers/Jaguars owing money to the city, Peyton should have stood his ground and insisted they pay up or be invited to leave. If they owed money and didn't pay it, they were in breach of their lease contract. No city should tolerate being shaken down or threatened by a sports franchise operation. Jacksonville has tied up a large piece of valuable real property near downtown for years now, built the stadium, pays the taxes on the property, and apparently has been paying some operational,maintenance costs.

This is not a community of ten million people. And the one million or so who live here can't afford to subsidize the Weavers' sports franchise operation, which is a private business. Taxpayers shouldn't have to support anything other than necessary, statutorily required and essential city/county operations, functions and support services---all for the benefit of legal citizens who live and pay taxes in the county.

A handful of elected and appointed city/county officials should never have the power to economically burden taxpayers by forcing them to subsidize a sports organization through corporate welfare. Such an economic burden should be decided in a referendum, where all registered voters would have a choice in the matter. I don't know of anything in the federal or state constitutions or in the Florida Statutes (laws) that grant a right to the city/county government to conscript taxpayers' money this purpose. It's not a tax, a fee, or a fine. It's a conscription of money (personal property) without the consent of those from whom it is conscripted. Providing for a sports team is not a legitimate function of city/county government.

I'd be interested in seeing exactly how much it cost the taxpayers to install the Jaguars here and exactly how much taxpayers have had to pay for related to them to the present time. We have a right to demand and be provided a full accounting of all of it.
Comment by Charles D White on June 5, 2011 at 5:30pm

The Finacial News and Daily Record www.jaxdailyrecord.com  is doing a story on this tomorrow Colleen and I will be in the article for our stated opposition as well as us being in attendance at the Thursday 9AM JEDC meeting at City Hall in Suite 400. I will do some homework before then, I sent Billie a list of JEDC members and we will need to watch when they try and bring it up before Council. Historically JEDC is a rubber stamp, but we need to be on the record prior to any council meetings. I will print this entire comment pages and start trying to find answers to the valid questions that were raised in all of these comments. Please if you are ready to engage in this listen to Just Speak Up we have numerous councilmen that listen when they can. Mon-Fri at noon on AM600 WBOB the call-in number is 854-1320.

Comment by Jim Ryan on June 5, 2011 at 5:21pm
like I said 2 days ago.  "Comment by Jim Ryan on June 3, 2011 at 3:18pm           
Delete Comment

  I vote with Beverly Thornton,  withdraw all funds from Everbank.   And as for Mrs Weaver.

I have rooted for the Jaguars since they came into existence and lived in Philadelphia.  That ended when she through her support to the Fraud.  Let all the games be "blacked out" and let them decide where in California they want to relocate.  Can't wait for the Florida - Georgia game and the college Gator Bowl."    

As I mentioned I have seen this first hand in Philadelphia where the town is run by 500 people the interest of 500 people.  Of those 500 there are maybe 40 people or so that pull all the levers, steal all the money, control all the votes through patronage jobs and investment money and take all the money.  The rest of the citizens are looked down on.  Jacksonville was supposed to be different.  Boycott Team Teal and the Jags if they even play this season.  When the Weavers put their team and corporate financial interest buy making some backroom deal they lost credibility by compromising their integrity and morals.  Let them live with that and feel pain a bit.  Go SEC, Go NASCAR, Go Gator Bowl, Go Golf, Go to the Beach.

Don't go to Jags games.

Comment by J.R. on June 5, 2011 at 3:44pm
I agree with all of that, Roma, and I don't care for some things done under Mayor Peyton's leadership, such as the elaborate new courthouse and its expensive art collection, but it does appear, from what I read, Peyton has been the one preventing payment to the Weavers/Jaguars for $500K in costs that have not been documented as being owed by the City/taxpayers. Plus, look at the City Council president, Jack Webb, Peyton had to deal with.

Leases are binding contracts, yet the ones regarding the stadium property have been treated as if they were made of silly putty and could be manipulated at will. Nothing should be paid in that dispute until every penny owed, and who owes it, can be verified beyond all doubt. And, if the Weavers don't like it, let them take their Jaguars, morphing leases, account books, and elitist entitlement attitude... and go find another city where they can get away with setting up a corporate welfare taxpayer-fleecing machine. Good luck, in this economy.

We don't need a parasitic sports corporation eating up our budget balances. After they get over withdrawal symptoms, the sports fans will likely be able to see that the Jaguars really weren't all that great anyway. It's much cheaper and just as much fun to follow and support our great college teams. Plus, we should be able to get a roll-back in taxes with that big-ticket budget sinkhole off the books.
Comment by Patricia M. McBride on June 5, 2011 at 2:39pm
Charles, you need to put the meeting up as an event so more people will see it and maybe Billie will send something out on it as well.  This is very, very important!
Comment by J.R. on June 5, 2011 at 1:52pm
Roma, thanks for these links. These articles reinforce what I already believed about what Duval County taxpayers have been, and are being, forced to subsidize for the Jaguars and their owners, the Weavers. But, now I see that it's considerably worse than what I knew. The additional costs to taxpayers to have this sports team in our city is clearly unequal taxation for Duval County citizens, as compared to Florida cities without one of these teams draining their county's economy and placing the economic burden squarely on the taxpayers' shoulders with yearly tax-hikes.

Duval County taxpayers were not fully informed of the enormous tax burden they would bear for the cost of the property, building the stadium, and committing to permanent recurring and rising costs to taxpayers every year... just to have the Jaguars in Jacksonville. Further, taxpayers were also kept in the dark about the actual net costs to them every year to allow this corporate welfare to continue. On top of this, there has been irresponsible mismanagement of it. This certainly doesn't qualify to be considered government "in the sunshine." And, in my opinion, it is tantamount to a fraud on the taxpayers who are required to foot the bill for all of it. And, the decision-makers have not been held accountable.

Now we have a Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC) meeting coming up on Thursday, June 9th, 9:00AM, at City Hall, without allowing public comment before the meeting begins... and they plan to vote at this meeting. No ray of sunshine there...!
Comment by J.R. on June 5, 2011 at 11:23am
Thanks, JL. I just read the article and it looks to me as if the Weavers, who own the Jaguars, are trying to pass off their operational costs to Duval County taxpayers. Unless it's stated in the lease contract that Duval County is responsible for paying for the Everbank scoreboard and grounds upkeep, they aren't responsible to pay the $500,000 to the Weavers---and they are responsible to pay what they owe the City of Jacksonville/(taxpayers). And, why should Duval County taxpayers be responsible for paying for any of it? We don't get any of the profits from it. And, if they're not making a profit, we don't need to be subsidizing their losses.

This is a matter that should be settled in court, with clear documentation required to be presented as evidence that Jacksonville taxpayers are obligated to pay for anything related to it. Documentation could then be obtained through a Motion for Production of Documents, depositions, and/or subpoenas. The Weavers appear to be in breach of their contract with the City of Jacksonville. And, why have the Mayor and City Council allowed this to slide for three years?

This whole thing is shady and disgusting. What in the world did taxpayers have to fork over eight million dollars to pay for related to the stadium? This is simply astonishing that taxpayers have been forced to support a hugely expensive, non-essential entity that the vast majority of citizens in the county don't even use and the ones who do, have to pay handsomely for the "privilege."

I say shut them down and get them out of taxpayers' wallets. They're a private enterprise and should have to succeed or fail on their own merit, just like any other businesses do. It's not the taxpayer's responsibility to prop them up and keep them going. If they can't support themselves as a business, they need to get the hell out of Jacksonville and stop scabbing off the taxpayers.

That's valuable property the stadium is sitting on close to downtown and could be put to better use that would be of benefit to the county, instead of a drain on taxpayers' money. If the City owns the stadium, they're also on the hook for the taxes on the property. That's another cost to taxpayers.

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