News Release Contact: Skip Cramer Executive Director Office: (904) 396-3052 Email: skip@jcci.org
JCCI City Finance Study release is June 10th JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA (June 9, 2009) – The Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI) is holding a study release for its City Finance Study on Wednesday, June 10. The study, Our Money, Our City: Financing Jacksonville’s Future will be released Wednesday, June 10th, 11:00 to 11:45 a.m., Jacksonville Main Library, Multipurpose Room #1. City Finance Study Chair J.F. Bryan IV, local civic leader and retired chair of Independent Life Insurance, will present the findings, conclusions and recommendations from the JCCI Study Committee’s six months of deliberation conducted between October 2008 and May 2009. The study committee, consisting of a cadre of 45 community volunteers, was charged with coming up with solutions to ensure Jacksonville’s long‐term financial sustainability and accountability while also meeting the needs and expectations of the community. The study was prompted by concerns about funding crises resulting from city pension underfunding, the effects of past short‐term financial planning, and actions by state and federal governments impacting city budgets – all of these issues then magnified during the study by a national economic meltdown. “The City’s financial picture is not sustainable,” said Study Chair Bryan, “but I am not sure the community realizes there is a crisis.” Study recommendations focus on creating a more sustainable and transparent financing process by addressing two critical tasks: Building public trust and addressing specific near‐ and long‐term financial problems. Bryan commented, “We need to begin a community wide conversation now about what kind of future we want for our city. For too long we have been doing ‘government on the cheap’ and we are paying for it now. Business as usual cannot continue.” The study presents some hard choices for local government leaders and for the community and is the third city finance study done by JCCI since 1977. JCCI Executive Director Skip Cramer noted that all previous JCCI studies resulted in positive changes. However, over time the city returned to bad habits of the past. “I hope the legacy of this study is that another group of JCCI volunteers isn’t wrestling with this same thing 10 or 15 years from now,” said Cramer. Copies of the study will be available at the release and on the JCCI website at www.jcci.org. Jacksonville Community Council Inc. (JCCI) is a nonprofit civic organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Northeast Florida. Since 1975, JCCI has convened diverse groups of citizens each year to identify significant community issues for in‐depth study. Its goal is to increase public awareness and promote positive action. JCCI’s study process and indicator reports have served as models for hundreds of communities around the world. For more information, visit the JCCI web site at www.jcci.org. ###