Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 157 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Curry sees $40M a year savings
Mayor: Pension reform could help budget starting in 2017-18
By David Chapman Staff Writer When Mayor Lenny Curry announced his pension reform efforts this year, the goal was to solve a crippling budgetary detriment “once and for all.” Extending a half-cent sales tax starting in 2030 as a dedicated payment source also offered the hope of immediate budget relief — early discussions forecast as much as $100 million a year. Now Curry has a number.
Curry
The possible savings: A minimum of $40 million a year. Curry said Monday an updated actuarial report being finalized within a week will show that by simply following the plan he fought to have approved by the Legislature, the city will realize those savings starting in fiscal 2017-18. The report is being done by Milliman, which has done previous studies for the city. Milliman is a Seattle-based global actuarial and consulting firm.
Voters first must approve the sales tax referendum on the August ballot. Then collective bargaining would close the current pension systems. The plan requires all city employees, including public safety, to pay up to 10 percent toward their retirement. An updated 30-year amortization schedule, as opposed to 24 years, would ease the city’s financial burden. Curry said no additional steps, including borrowing, would be needed. It all would come from
Wallace presents in Liverpool
updated actuarial calculations using 2015 demographics — employee counts, salaries, etc. — as opposed to the 2012 figures used in the past. “We weren’t pursuing it (reform) for savings,” said Curry of the $40 million minimum. “It just happens.” He said the annual savings demonstrate the city “could ride this out” until the pension-dedicated tax takes effect in 2030. Still, he said, residents should Pension
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Last week, while the Late Bloomers Garden Club was lobbying the Jacksonville Waterways Commission for a comprehensive Downtown waterfront master plan, Aundra Wallace was packing his bags and making sure his passport was in order. Wallace, CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority, was about to head to Liverpool, England. He was the only U.S. presenter and one of only two from North America at the International Waterfront Forum, a gathering on Friday and Saturday of urban redevelopment officials and professionals from Canada, China, France, Germany, the Netherlands and England. “It was an opportunity to look at cities that have significant ports in close proximity to the urban core,” said Wallace. What struck him about being among his global colleagues was how similar to Jacksonville many other cities are in terms of waterfront redevelopment. At the beginning of the 20th century, most cities with substantial maritime shipping interests clustered the activity near their downtowns. As shipping evolved Wallace
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Photo by Kevin Hogencamp
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Jason Hackworth
His bow tie isn’ t just for style Hackworth finds snappy apparel to be a conversation starter
Downtown Investment Authority CEO Aundra Wallace visited the Wheel of Liverpool while he was in England for the International Waterfront Forum.
Public
Special to the Daily Record
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By Kevin Hogencamp, Contributing Writer
ason Hackworth was about a decade into his mortgage industry career and real estate was jumping. He was in a competitive environment and wanted to raise his profile. “I was looking for something to set myself apart,” said Hackworth, now Angel Oak Home Lending’s Jacksonville-market branch manager. So he bought a bow tie. Green and navy. It took an hour to learn to tie it so it fit firmly on the collar. He still owns it — and has added many others. Hackworth isn’t just dapper. His bow ties are conversation-starters. That’s a huge advantage to have in sales. “It always leads to questions, laughs,” he said. And, sometimes business. Mission accomplished. Hackworth cut his mortgage-origination teeth after obtaining a business administration degree and answering Norwest Corp.’s newspaper ad in his hometown of Crossett, Ark. Norwest later merged with
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Wells Fargo & Co. Hackworth spent about 20 years, mostly in leadership positions, with “Big Bank” as he calls it. Now, he manages a high-performing branch for Angel Oak, the Atlanta-based retail mortgage lending firm that emerged after the 2008 financial crisis and recession. During an interview in his Ponte Vedra Beach office, Hackworth realized there’s a parallel between Angel Oak and his bow ties.
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Both are downright distinctive. “It’s funny, now that I think about it,” he said, how bow ties and Angel Oak both set themselves apart. In addition to offering traditional mortgages, Angel Oak drives sales by offering loans to former homeowners with recent foreclosures, short sales, bankruptcies and credit scores as low as 500. “We provide opportunities not offered by lenders,” Hackworth said. Hackworth continued on Page A-2
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