Council waives ordinance requirement so University of North Florida veterans initiative can receive funds

Council members voted to approve bill 20 24 9 40 9 as amended, waiving a local ordinance provision that temporarily blocks organizations on the city's noncompliance list from receiving additional city dollars so the University of North Florida (UNF) can receive veteran-related funding.

The amendment and debate centered on audit timing rather than a failure to file audits. Phil Peterson, auditing staff, told the council that “UNF's audit is due October 28 each year. They go on the noncompliance list every year, because they are audited by the state auditor general who has a schedule of timing of when they do audits throughout the state of Florida.” He said the city typically…