Finance committee cuts telehealth, shifts council CBA dollars, votes 1/8-mill property-tax rollback in first budget hearing

Jacksonville Finance Committee members opened the city’s 2025–26 budget hearings on Aug. 7 with a series of policy and technical votes that trimmed one program, restored or reclassified several funding streams and set the tone for later deliberations.

The committee approved moving district council Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) funds out of the capital improvement program (CIP) and into the operating budget. Committee leaders said moving those dollars to operations will recognize them as immediately available to districts and will reduce reliance on debt (the motion was made and seconded on the floor and passed by voice vote). City auditors and staff warned the shift creates an initial $14 million operating shortfall that must be addressed elsewhere in the budget.

In the most visible fiscal change, the committee approved a rollback of ad valorem revenue of $13,478,133 — equivalent to a one‑eighth mill reduction — reducing the proposed millage and lowering the city’s tax take for 2025–26. Supporters said the move returns excess revenue to taxpayers after multiple years of revenue growth; opponents cautioned about sustaining services and preserving long‑term fiscal capacity. The motion passed on a recorded hands/voice vote.

The committee also removed $2.1 million proposed for a telehealth/Health Link JAX pilot from the budget. Supporters of the program argued it had already diverted patients from emergency departments and produced savings for local hospitals; opponents said the service should be funded by health systems or through other mechanisms rather than the general fund. The vote to delete the telehealth line item passed on the floor.

On economic development incentives, staff explained a $39 million proposed Downtown incentive was initially budgeted with debt and that the…