Jacksonville council members announce 'Duval DOGE' efficiency review; public speakers largely oppose committee

Councilman Ron Salem, Group 2 at-large, announced the formation of a Jacksonville City Council subcommittee — labeled "Duval DOGE" in committee materials — to inventory city services and look for efficiencies, then turn recommendations to the Finance Committee.

Salem told the meeting that auditors will analyze multiple areas, including consolidated banking and credit-card processing, the city's use of purchase cards ("P cards"), utilization of facilities such as community centers and libraries, children's services, capital improvement projects with no recent financial activity, growth of departments compared with population changes, and charges the city makes to independent authorities. "We have about a 50 of those in this government," Salem said about P-cards and later noted auditors are pulling together data on usage and costs.

The committee announcement drew a sustained public response. The chair said the meeting had 25 comment cards and that the public comment period would be limited to roughly two minutes per speaker. The committee provided an email for public input: DuvalDoge@coj.net.

Why it matters

The subcommittee would not itself change policy or budgets. Salem and others described it as an information-gathering body that will make recommendations to the…