Daily Record Financial News &
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 158 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
$318,000 illegally spent on contract Problems with 2007 consulting deal linked to 2 on Curry’s team By David Chapman Staff Writer In May 2011, City Council member Reggie Brown made several requests to improve his district. Four projects comprising renovations and improvements to area amenities, paid for with $400,000 from his district bond account — money council members can use to help their area with capital needs. However, the $400,000 never made it to the projects. Instead, a week later, a city
Stewart
Succession plan for Stein Mart: A merger
department illegally diverted the bond money to a consulting contract for affordable housing, with almost $318,000 being improperly spent. A council auditor’s report issued Tuesday afternoon detailed the issues while also shining a light on the initial consultancy contract that’s been revealed to have its own share of questions. That deal was approved under former Mayor John Peyton, yet some of those involved have senior positions on Mayor Lenny Curry’s team: Chief of Staff Kerri
Stewart and Director of Public Works John Pappas. It’s an issue that’s meant repaying the funds by borrowing money and possible greater scrutiny by the Office of Inspector General.
Bond money gone awry
Council district bonds are meant for capital improvements with a long shelf life. What can and can’t be done is pretty clear — misusing them, as the auditor’s report states, can jeopardize their tax-exempt status.
Brown wanted to spend $100,000 each to renovate a building at the Community Rehabilitation Center, improve a vacant building at Scott Park, expand the Forestview Community Center and add concrete bleachers at the Bob Hayes Sports Complex. The rehab center later was deemed ineligible. Stewart, who was Peyton’s chief administrative officer at the time, signed off on the spending. A week later, though, what was then the Housing & Neighborhoods Department approved a Contract continued on Page A-3
Company chairman says any change is a long way off
Despite bringing in a new chief executive in March, Jay Stein remains a fixture as chairman and the largest shareholder of Stein Mart Inc. However, Stein told shareholders Tuesday at the company’s annual meeting that he does see a time when he gives up control of the company his grandfather founded more than a century ago. “We’ll probably merge the company at some point,” he said, in response to a shareholder question about his long-range plans. “I don’t have anyone to turn it over to,” he said. Stein, who controls 31 percent of the stock, stepped back from the daily operations of the Jacksonville-based fashion retailer when he hired Dawn Robertson as the new CEO. However, he said after the meeting at Stein Mart’s Southbank headquarters that he isn’t going away anytime soon, and any change in control is a long way off. The chain could eventually be acquired by another retail operaStein tor that would keep the Stein Mart brand name as a subsidiary or the company could be bought by a financial buyer who keeps the company intact. “We want this to go on beyond me,” the 70-year-old Stein said. Stein Mart finished fiscal 2015 with 278 stores across the country and plans to open 13 more this year, while closing two. Stein said he hopes to see the company growing by 15 to 20 stores a year. “We want to continue to build the brand all through the country,” he said. Stein is optimistic about his company’s Stein Mart
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Photos by Fran Ruchalski
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer
Linda Sherrer jokingly chokes her daughter, Christy Budnick, at their Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty office. Sherrer founded the company in 1988; Budnick joined almost 15 years ago.
‘All we do is talk real estate’ Mother and daughter work together, vacation together and planned the future of their real estate company together. By Marilyn Young, Editor In a sense, Linda Sherrer’s first real estate deal came decades ago when she was a Navy wife in Hawaii. And it was a pretty successful one. Her husband was sent to Vietnam before the couple closed on their home, leaving Sherrer to handle the transaction by herself. The Veterans Administration closing came with a mile-high stack of paperwork. “It scared me to death,” she said. A little over two years later, “that little shack in Hawaii” they
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bought for $30,000 sold for $60,500. “I got bit by the bug,” Sherrer recalled. “I said, ‘I like this a lot.’” As it turns out, she is good at it. Really good. Early in her career, she worked for real estate icon Bill Watson, then was hired in 1984 by Herb Peyton as head of marketing and sales for his new Epping Forest development. Four years later, when Prudential Insurance Co. of America decided to get into residential real estate, she was approached Workspace continued on Page A-7
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