On the September evening City Council finalized this year’s budget, Matt Schellenberg initially had a pair of floor amendments that could be construed as an “either-or” approach.
Schellenberg, in his second term, has been the council’s representative for the National League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties, organizations that present learning opportunities and provide needed representation to cities.
Being a member was all well and good, he said, but the city needed to be more involved. He sought to add $20,000 to the council’s travel budget.
If that didn’t work, his second floor amendment would have been to nix the memberships, saving the city about $153,000.
The latter never came to pass, as council members added to the travel budget.
Months later, council members understand such a situation isn’t a one-time issue.
On Tuesday, council Vice President John Crescimbeni met with council member Anna Lopez Brosche in hopes to hammer out a more dedicated travel policy involving organizations to which the city pays membership dues.
In all, the city pays about $227,000 in dues to various organizations.
The largest expenditures are the Florida Association of Counties ($110,000), Florida League of Cities ($42,000), National League of Cities ($26,421), U.S. Conference of Mayors ($26,000) and National Association of Counties ($17,000).
“If we’re going to be a member, we ought to be a member,” Crescimbeni told those in attendance, which at one point included nine council members.
What the group came up with was a funding floor for a membership-oriented account. For those who need travel budgets for participation, it would be $20,000 or 10 percent of the dues, whichever is greater.
The overall travel budget for council the past several years has been $20,000, with $10,000 typically earmarked for the council president. Rules dictate council members each have $3,000 limits on travel.
Yet as council President Lori Boyer said, that ceiling hasn’t been reached in those years because council members haven’t been requesting the money. The council president has oversight on such expenditures, approving or rejecting expenditures based on the trip, its purpose and the available budget.
Schellenberg in the meeting continued to advocate for further engagement, saying the organizations “want Jacksonville to participate” and described how other cities and municipalities tend to send several people as representatives. That input is valuable, he said.
Council member Reggie Brown, a former representative to the organizations, agreed with Schellenberg. He recalls attending a conference and finding out at a workshop that Jacksonville wasn’t writing grants for Brownfield designations — a revelation he called “embarrassing.”
Participation isn’t just a trip, he said, it’s to learn about what other cities are doing and what’s available in such workshops that can help.
Currently, Schellenberg represents council on the two major organizations, with council member Joyce Morgan recently appointed to also represent the council as an alternate.
The group determined the two major organizations — League of Cities and Association of Counties — should have separate members serving as representatives to more evenly spread the workload.
Members said they will develop a staggered policy to ensure there wasn’t a lapse in experience or representation.
A bill will be drafted to reflect the additional travel funding floor and, if successful, could avoid the dilemma Schellenberg had in September.
A breakdown of some of the dues the city pays outside organizations. In all, it was more than $227,000 for this fiscal year.
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