Jacksonville council, residents debate governance, guardrails for East Side CBA entity

Jacksonville council members, legal staff and East Side residents met in a special notice session to discuss how a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) fund for the East Side should be governed and how city dollars would be protected and spent. The meeting was for discussion only; no votes or formal actions were taken.

The session focused on two governance options: creating an independent 501(c)(3) modeled on the city's Cultural Council to receive and distribute city and private dollars, or using a statutory vehicle such as a tax-increment-style revenue diversion or special-district model. Mary Stifopoulos, Office of General Counsel, summarized prior committee work and said staff would draft legislation based on the Cultural Council construct for the special committee's consideration.

Councilman Arias (District 11) and Councilman Paluso (City Council District 7) led the discussion. Councilman Paluso noted that the mayor's proposed budget includes "$4,000,000 allocation towards the East Side," and said the immediate question is which entity will receive and oversee those dollars. He described a draft board structure under discussion: nine members total, with five seats reserved for East Side community members and four appointees (one by the mayor, two by city council and one by the Jacksonville Jaguars). "That board would get funds distributed every year from city council," Paluso said, adding the board would present budgets annually, be audited and be…