Council members outline year-and-a-half agenda: rental registry, historic rehab, jobs and fiscal oversight

Council members used an internal Jan. 9 meeting to lay out priorities for the final 18 months of their term, focusing on housing, downtown development, infrastructure and jobs.

Councilman Jimmy Paluso said he will push a rental-registry concept and consider creating a full-time ombudsman position to help renters report problems such as mold and code violations. "Somebody that that could be called upon by residents to say, hey, you know, I live in this apartment complex... I've got mold," Paluso said, adding he has worked with the administration and the city's Office of General Counsel to ensure any approach complies with Florida statute.

Paluso also described a proposed historic housing rehab program to address "demolition by neglect," suggesting the city could foreclose where it holds first position, then require restoration through bids or a nonprofit steward and seed a revolving loan fund to finance work.

Councilman Nick Howland said his priorities are public safety, infrastructure and jobs. He described changes to the citys public incentive plan that helped attract manufacturing and said the Jacksonville Aviation Authority's surplus could be leveraged to spur job growth at Cecil Field. "If Jacksonville will rise to what I say it aspires to bethe greatest city in the Southeast to live, work and playwe need to have one of the lowest unemployment rates," Howland said.

Councilman Will Lane and others emphasized fiscal oversight of a large capital-improvement program (CIP). Lane said the city's CIP was about $692 million this year and urged attention to prioritization across districts, resurfacing criteria and non-departmental spending.

The meeting was informational; members asked staff for follow-ups and encouraged colleagues and the public to attend future committee meetings.