When Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown’s staff talked Monday about making the city’s parking division part of a downtown development board, Derek Igou had questions.

Is the board ready to license taxis? How about inspect school buses?

Those are parts of the parking division’s job, and Igou — who once was in charge of parking — thought that seemed a poor fit with the job of reviving downtown.

Concerns like his are part of the routine of an ad-hoc study group meeting with City Council members to comb through Brown’s legislation to begin a sweeping remake of city services.

City Councilman Bill Gulliford recruited the unpaid panel, mostly former city administrators, to help the committee on recreation and community development that he chairs digest Brown’s bill in time for a requested Dec. 13 vote.

“I wanted a good mix of experience,” said Gulliford, who said he hopes to regather the group — and possibly add members — when Brown starts a second phase of reorganization next year.

The panel is chaired by businessman Ron Mallett. Besides Igou, who was deputy chief administrative officer under former Mayor John Peyton, the group also includes Sam Mousa, former Mayor John Delaney’s chief administrative officer; Steve Diebenow, once Peyton’s chief of policy; and Wyman Duggan, who chaired the city’s Charter Revision Commission last year.

Gulliford made the case for having a study group when they met for the time last week.

“The desire of our [council] committee is that the city realize the best product possible in the reorganization,” he wrote. “I think they will substantially enhance our chances of doing it right.”

A lot of talk has dealt with Brown’s goals and how each piece of the reorganization would serve those ends.

That can touch small topics, such as why Brown’s plan has a new maintenance division in the parks department.

“I’m assuming the mayor wants a higher priority on park maintenance,” Mousa said last week, but asked Brown’s staff to spell out reasons to separate that from other city maintenance work.

On a different scale, members have raised questions about the number of administrators who would report directly to the mayor, saying that could be hard to manage if Brown keeps a busy schedule of public appearances or work-related travel.

And the fact that Brown would call some top appointees commissioners worries some members, who say the label will be confusing in a state where both city and county governments use the term to describe elected leaders rather than administrators.

That concern grew Monday, when members realized the title could be used at different levels of government, creating a commissioner who would report to another commissioner.

Gulliford asked council members to hold their opinions on the bill, but said he’s glad most of his committee and some others who are just interested have turned up at the study group meetings. Another is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. today in the council offices.

Despite their questions and suggestions, study group members supported much of Brown’s plan.

“My initial reaction is to allow the mayor what he’s asking for and to have him develop the structure that he needs to implement his vision,” Mousa told the group. “The buck stops with him.”

steve.patterson@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4263

 
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