Daily Record Financial News &
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Atwater says Curry should be in CFO mix
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 066 • oNe SectioN
35¢
It’s helped us grow in our marriage in ways we would have never done otherwise. Paula Fallon, about working in real estate with her husband, Kevin
Political adviser encouraging mayor to let process unfold Gov. Rick Scott will appoint a state chief financial officer to take the Cabinet seat after CFO Jeff Atwater vacates it following the 60-day legislative session that starts March 7. Atwater doesn’t know if Mayor Lenny Curry is interested in the position, but wouldn’t be surprised if he is a contender. Curry is an astute, fiscally disciplined, “talented guy and he should be in that mix,” Atwater said Monday after a presentation to the Economic Roundtable of Jacksonville. As his political adviser Brian Hughes said Monday evening, Curry “is enjoying and 100 percent committed to being mayor of Jacksonville.” Scott has at least until May, when the 60-day legislative session is scheduled to end, to make the CFO appointment. Hughes said Curry is a skilled fiscal manager, a smart leader, a loyal friend to the governor and a leader who can present big ideas and build a consensus around them. “I certainly would encourage him to sit back and let the process unfold,” Curry Hughes said. Asked whether Curry is interested in the position, been approached about it from the governor’s office or would accept it if asked, Hughes said he didn’t know. The mayor and Scott have had a strong relationship for years. The News Service of Florida reported the appointee could have an advantage in running for the full term in 2018. The service said no one has opened a campaign account to run, but potential appointees’ names, in addition to Curry, include Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former state Rep. Tom Grady and state Sens. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, Tom Lee of Thonotosassa, Lizbeth Benacquisto of Fort Myers and Jack Latvala of Clearwater. CURRY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Photo by Maggie FitzRoy
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor
Elise and Murray Beard of Watson Realty Corp.
Partners at home and work Some couples find working together in real estate adds up
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By Maggie FitzRoy, Contributing Writer
n the depths of the recession, Watson Realty agent Elise Beard was so busy she thought about quitting. It wasn’t a happy time to be in the business. “Everybody was angry. Buyers were vultures, circling. Sellers were angry, upset and losing money,” she said. “It was an emotional time.”
Worrying about — and juggling — the details of every transaction was causing her to lose sleep and led to heart palpitations. Then her husband, Murray, came to the rescue. “I said, ‘I’ll get my real estate license and I’ll do anything you don’t want to do,’” he said. Murray had been a banker until the bust, which sent his builder and developer customers into bankruptcy.
So in 2010, he was looking for a new career. “I knew the real estate market was going to get much better,” he said. “I told her, ‘you can’t quit now.’” Murray joined Elise, now in her 12th year with Watson, five and a half years ago. They became a successful team at their Ponte Vedra Beach office. At the time, they were the only husbandand-wife team there. From the get-go, it worked for them,
although they work apart much of the time, which Elise said helps keep their marriage “healthy.” Murray, who mostly works from home, handles the day-to-day details of their transactions. He schedules showings, negotiates transactions and handles marketing details for listings. When they get a listing, Elise, who mainly works out of their Watson office, hires the stager and goes with them to make PARTNERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Public safety unions to vote on pension deal Three other employee organizations still negotiating with city
By Max Marbut, Staff Writer
Wyse
Public
“I think we got the contract as good as we can get it.” That’s the reason Randy Wyse, president of the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters, said the union agreed Saturday to tentatively accept the city’s proposal for a new employee pension plan. The Fraternal Order of Police also tentatively agreed to the proposal.
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The city’s public safety plan includes a 20 percent salary increase over the next three years for police officers, corrections officers and firefighters, plus a one-time lump sum payment to current employees equal to 3 percent of their annual salary. Judicial officers and sworn bailiffs would receive a 14 percent pay increase over three years. Active and former employees would retain existing benefits
under the proposal, but new hires would enroll in a defined contribution retirement plan with a contribution of 25 percent of the employee’s salary from the city and 10 percent from the worker. The city previously reached a tentative agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and is still negotiating with three other unions. Voters approved last year a
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referendum to extend the Better Jacksonville Plan’s half-cent sales tax to help pay down the city’s $2.85 billion pension debt. The initiative required closing up to three of the city’s underfunded defined benefit retirement plans and increasing employees’ contributions for those plans to at least 10 percent. Wyse said Monday that Saturday’s action put the union PENSION CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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