Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 202 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Regional package facility at Cecil Zoning application says business would have 1,000 employees
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor AllianceFlorida at Cecil Commerce Center’s proposed 1 million-square-foot warehouse-distribution facility, if developed, would serve as a regional package facility for a national company, according to a zoning request. It would operate aroundthe-clock every day of the
year with about 1,000 employees. Some shifts would overlap, which increases parking demand. The unidentified company also would operate a truck/ van terminal and accommodate drivers and operators in addition to warehouse and office workers. During peak seasons, such as holidays, the package warehouse will staff up
with additional temporary employees to meet peak shipping demand, says the zoning application. Cecil Commerce Center is in West Jacksonville and the proposed 1,016,080-squarefoot center is designed on 86.05 acres at 13333 103rd St. The city owns the property and Hillwood Industrial Properties Inc. of Dallas is the business park’s master devel-
oper. The city, as the owner, and Prosser Inc., as the agent and engineer, applied for an administrative deviation to the city’s zoning code to increase the maximum number of off-site parking spaces from 632 to 1,159 and to reduce minimum landscape requirements. The deviation would be granted in Hillwood’s name.
Hillwood Senior Vice President Dan Tatsch said Monday by email that consistent with his policy, he cannot comment on the zoning application. City spokeswoman Tia Ford said she was advised by the Office of Economic Development there is no information to provide at this time. A zoning-code maximum Cecil continued on Page A-4
INSIDE
City approves building permit for Amazon.com fulfillment center on Pecan Park Road that will bring at least 1,500 jobs Page A-2
Business tax drop impacts budget New ventures often not told about fee
Curry promotes‘unified support
Push comes after opposition to tax, week before vote
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Days after the Duval Democratic Executive Committee came out swinging against his pension tax proposal, Mayor Lenny Curry offered a counterpunch Monday with dozens of people behind him. The “unprecedented coalition of support” of close to 50 included religious and business leaders, City Council and Duval County School Board members, nonprofit and cultural heads, young, old, Republican, Democrat, white and black. They were at City Hall to say “Yes for Jacksonville” in support of extending a half-cent sales tax dedicated to paying down the city’s crippling pension obligations currently totaling about $2.8 billion. But, make no mistake about it, the news conference with the boisterous support served two purposes. The first was timing. Early voting is underway and many others will head to the polls Aug. 30, leav-
Public
ing just about a week before the critical decision is finalized. Time is running out to make that impression on voters, many of whom remain undecided according to the most recent poll conducted by the University of North Hazouri Florida. The second was the response. When the Democratic Executive Committee took a stand last week against the pension plan, Curry called it disappointing and “100 percent partisan politics” by a small faction. Curry led off his Monday event by again referring to the group as a “small group of political opposition” and said he hoped media would cover the story of the united effort for the pension tax. He again referenced the opposition as an “incredibly small group” and chided the
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media for last week “making it a big story when it wasn’t.” Instead, he said, the story should be the unified support that’s coming from all backgrounds and creeds, ZIP codes and party affiliations. That included two well-known Democrats who are standing in support of the measure. Nat Glover, the former sheriff and current Edward Waters College president, is someone Curry said hesitated when he was asked to support the cause. Glover co-chairs the Yes for Jacksonville political committee pushing marketing efforts for the pension referendum. Glover called the pension problem a personal issue for him, describing himself as a trustee for Jacksonville. That includes his time in law enforcement as well as serving on the Police and Fire Pension Fund board, which last year voted on the first phase of reform. “Now it’s left up to you to step up and Pension continued on Page A-3
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There are many signs in the city’s annual budget that can reflect the health of the local economy. When revenue is up from collected property and sales taxes, as they have been the past couple of years, it’s seen as a positive. Yet, when Mayor Lenny Curry’s budget team was putting together this year’s spending plan, there was one businessrelated factor that wasn’t up. In fact, it was down significantly. This year, the city’s local business tax was about $7.3 million. Next year, though, it was initially projected to only bring in $6.7 million, down about $600,000. The tax, also known as an occupational license, is a self-reported levy businesses pay for operating in the county. Number of employees, equipment and seating capacity are a few factors that determine the amount due, according to a city website. Florida statutes for decades have provided all counties the ability levy such a tax. Corrigan In Northeast Florida, Clay and Nassau counties do not collect the fee, though St. Johns County does. There have been plenty of job announcements the past year. Unemployment numbers have consistently ticked down. Gas tax, sales tax and property taxes all were up and are considered indicators of a healthy economy. Why was the business tax down so much? “That one kind of threw us for a loop,” said City Council Auditor Kirk Sherman. After dropping to just more than $7 million in fiscal 2013-14, the figure shot up the next year by about $300,000. It was about $7.3 million again this year.
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Mayor Lenny Curry is surrounded by business, religious, cultural and elected leaders from across the city Monday to show support for the sales-tax referendum to pay down pension obligations. The measure is on the Aug. 30 ballot.
Photo by David Chapman
By David Chapman Staff Writer
27,002
Tax
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consecutive weekdays