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Committee approves 2024 budget closeout ordinance; one abstention over family ties to JTA contractor
Summary
The committee approved a budget closeout bill that reconciles FY2024 actuals to budgeted totals after a screener correction to a line item. Councilmember Reginald Gaffney Jr. abstained because of a family contract with JTA; committee approved the bill 6-0 with one abstention recorded as 6 yays, 1 abstention.
The Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee approved a 2024 budget closeout ordinance March 4 after staff recorded a scrivener's correction to a dollar figure in the bill and committee members discussed related operational questions from Jacksonville Transportation Authority representatives.
Edward Linsky, of the council auditor’s office, placed a scrivener's correction on the record, saying, "there's a Screvener's item on page 2, line 19, to correct a number that is listed. The correct number is $6,742,955." The chair noted the correction had been raised shortly before the meeting and that the correction did not require a formal amendment.
Councilmember Reginald Gaffney Jr. (District 8) said he would abstain from the vote because his father "have a contract with JTA for paratransit services," and he said he would file the necessary paperwork with legislative services. The committee recorded six yeas and one abstention.
Members discussed operational matters related to JTA programs during consideration. Councilman Carlucci raised a traffic complaint about JTA vehicles blocking a lane on Hogan Street near downtown stations; Raj Srinath, JTA chief financial officer, clarified that the ordinance before the committee was a 2024 budget closeout and not a fiscal-year-2025 appropriation, and he said the closeout monies would not fund the Bay Innovation Corridor or the U2C van program in FY2025.
The committee adopted the ordinance as presented (tally: 6 yeas, 1 abstention).
