Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, June 19, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 150 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Pension board OKs plan 4-1
How to pay for $1.62B unfunded liability still to be decided By David Chapman Staff Writer After years of meetings, proposals and roadblocks, the foundation for comprehensive pension reform has passed. In a 4-1 vote Friday morning, the Police and Fire Pension Fund board passed the measure — the last in a long line of requirements to achieve reform. City Council passed the proposal 14-4 earlier this month.
City representatives Walt Bussells and Adam Herbert, police representative Larry Schmitt and fifth member Nat Glover voted in favor. Firefighter member Richard Tuten III was the sole “no.” Shortly after the vote, Mayor Alvin Brown signed the bill into law. It will save taxpayers $1.5 billion over 30 years. Council will now have to decide how to pay down the pension fund’s $1.62 billion unfunded liability.
On Thursday, about a dozen police officers and firefighters spoke out against the reform package, trying to persuade board members who seemed destined to pass a deal. A room away, chairs were already positioned in front of a giant American flag. Preparations for a celebratory bill signing that’s been years in the making. Morale is at an all-time low, said police officer R.T. Weeks. Passing the current deal would
“rip apart” both agencies even more. The package for new employees should be revisited and rates for cost-of-living adjustments and the Deferred Retirement Option Plan should stay locked, he said. If passed, both would operate on sliding scales instead of having a fixed rate. James Brunet, an attorney and former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in-house legal counsel, told the board changing once-prom-
ised cost-of-living adjustments is partly why a group of public safety personnel had come to see him. While no legal action was announced, it was hinted that could be the case — the group was “still exploring those options,” Brunet said. “These people are frustrated,” he told the board. The issue of sacrifice was common, but especially from Michael Taylor. In 2001, he was shot twice Pension continued on Page A-4
Photo from bravotv.com
Spending some time with the fans
Kevin Sbraga
‘Top Chef ’ restaurant to open fall
Mathis
Public
continued on
Page A-2
Myriam Madera, center, smiles as Rose Madera presents a photo for wide receiver Ace Sanders to autograph. Thursday’s practice was cut short by Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley so the players could meet the fans and sign autographs. It was the last day of offseason minicamp for the team. See more photos on Page A-4.
Learning to do more with less
Collaboration helps nonprofits shore up finances
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer
Photo by Kevin Hogencamp
Brooklyn Commons, the new Jacksonville restaurant to be run by Philadelphia “Top Chef” Kevin Sbraga, should open this fall at 220 Riverside. “It will be a real asset to Jacksonville to have a signature chef come down and do a restaurant in Jacksonville,” said architect Jason Faulkner of Studio 9 Architecture. He expects an autumn completion. River City Contractors Inc. will renovate space at the new 220 Riverside mixeduse apartment and retail community in the Brooklyn area. Plans show a $1.74 million construction job to build-out a 6,650-square-foot space. The space will provide a restaurant, private dining, lounge, bar and raw bar as well as terrace dining. Developer NAI Hallmark Partners announced almost a year ago that Sbraga, the winner of Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” in 2010, would open at 220 Riverside. Hallmark worked with Vucurevich Simons Advisory Group to search for what it identified as “the ideal restaurateur for the unique space.” Hallmark’s team visited Sbraga and he visited Jacksonville. In a statement then, Sbraga said Jacksonville’s coastal location and warm climate would provide “a vibrant selection of quality local ingredients to work with, and I’m looking forward to incorporating them
Photo by Bobby King
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor
Murat Tiryakioglu, director of the University of North Florida’s School of Engineering, says a token of appreciation he received from Trinity Rescue Mission is among his cherished possessions.
legal notices begin on page
A-10
Like many community-service organizations, Trinity Rescue Mission was hurting. It was 2011. The economy had not recovered from the recession. Providing food, shelter and hope for homeless people in Jacksonville was harder than ever. “We needed help,” says Matt Heavener, Trinity’s development director. To Trinity’s rescue came a brainy collaboration of servant leaders and college students that teaches nonprofits how to work smarter rather
Published
for
26,677
than harder. Now operating in the black, Trinity’s resurgence and ability to fulfill its mission are largely a result of a Community Excellence Alliance and University of North Florida partnership, the organizations leaders say. Using Six Sigma methodology, which embraces statistical analysis rather than guesswork for problemsolving, UNF engineering and business students team with alliance mentors to propose solutions to nonprofits’ challenges. “There’s one thing about nonprofits that we have learned: When they run out of money, instead of looking UNF continued on Page A-3
consecutive weekdays