The budget hearings set to start in August are like a storm on the horizon for Jacksonville City Council members.
Before it hits, council President Bill Bishop wants to clear the decks of two other big votes — a bill that would add gays to the city's human rights ordinance and a bill creating a downtown investment authority.
The anti-discrimination bill has generated thousands of emails, letters and phone calls to council members since it was introduced in May. Bishop said one way or the other, it's time to decide before the budget takes priority.
"Vote it up or down," Bishop told council members. "We've got a lot of things to deal with, and that is one that would be nice to not have on our plate for very much longer."
Read: Today's opinion letter in response to John Delaney's July 10 letter
But council committees didn't vote last week to move either the gay rights or the downtown investment authority bills forward for a full council vote Tuesday. That means the earliest the council could vote is Aug. 14, unless Bishop pulls them out of committee and onto the council floor for a vote, as he has the power to do.
The council's ability to finalize action on those bills will foreshadow its capacity to grapple with Mayor Alvin Brown's proposed budget, which already has come under sharp criticism by Sheriff John Rutherford for cuts to his department.
Finance Committee Chairman John Crescimbeni said he agrees with Bishop's game plan.
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