Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2017
VOL. 104, NO. 176 • ONE SECTION
35¢
www.jaxdailyrecord.com
MAYOR CURRY’S CITY BUDGET
Contract signed for iFLY location
Auditor to recommend millage rate increase Slight increase would give city flexibility in budget process, Finance Committee told. By David Cawton Staff Writer
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Indoor skydiving is descending on St. Johns Town Center. Sky Entertainment LLC Managing Partner Chester Schwartz said Tuesday his group signed a contract Friday for 2.5 acres for development of a $10 million to $12 million iFLY project. He said the venue, which would be south of Topgolf, should be completed by September or October 2018. “Jacksonville is one of the largest cities in Florida. It is a growing city, so we want to be part of that,” Schwartz said. There are iFLY centers in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa.
Property taxes and Curry’s budget
The City Council Auditors Office will recommend increasing the general service millage rate a quarter of a point at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday. Council Auditor Kyle Billy told members of the council Finance Committee on Tuesday that the increase would represent about $13 million in additional revenue for the general fund. More importantly, Billy said, the slight increase would give council members more flexibility when they begin debating Mayor Lenny Curry’s proposed $1.275 billion budget in August Curry and September. He said if council members wanted to keep the current 11.4419 general service millage rate, as recommended in Curry’s new budget, they could, “or put that the extra money into reserves.” According to the Duval County Tax Collector’s Office, council approved a 1.4066 increase to the general service millage rate in 2013 to 11.4419, where it has remained since. Curry introduced his municipal budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year Monday. It does not include an increase. When asked Tuesday about the council auditor’s recommendation, Curry again said he doesn’t support raising taxes. “Not at all. I do not support raising the millage rate,” he said. “In three years, my team has introduced three balanced budgets without raising taxes,” AUDITOR
Indoor skydiving center site is near Topgolf.
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City budget general fund revenue from ad valorem taxes:
FY 2016-17 adopted FY 2017-18 proposed Revenue increase Percentage increase
$560,583,862 $595,914,631 $35,330,769 6.3%
What it will cost you...
MATHIS
Duval County homeowner property tax bill increase based on the proposed 11.4419 mills for city general services: Market value
$75,000 $150,000 $1 million
$18.02 $36.04 $240.28
Railroad cut 1,400 jobs so far this year. By Mark Basch Contributing writer
Mayor’s budget doesn’t raise taxes, but you’ll still pay more By Max Marbut Associate Editor After he presented the proposed city budget Monday morning to City Council, Mayor Lenny Curry pointed out that the revenues and
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expenditures plan for 2017-18 does not include any tax increases. Tax rate increases, that is. Curry’s proposal for revenue from ad valorem taxes is based on 11.4419 mills for city general services (collection per $1,000 of taxable value), but the taxable property value of property in Duval County increased in the past year from $55.3 billion to $58.6 billion, about 6 percent. TAXES
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CSX beats 2nd quarter earnings forecasts
Increase in property tax bill for 2017*
*Includes $50,000 homestead exemption; does not include increased taxes for millage assessed by Duval County Public Schools, St. Johns River Water Management District or the Florida Inland Navigation District. Sources: Mayor’s Office and Duval County Property Appraiser’s Office
Increase in property values means city will collect millions in additional revenue.
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CSX Corp. on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings as new CEO Hunter Harrison began implementing his plans to make the Jacksonville-based railroad run m o re e f f i ciently. Adjusted earnings of Harrison 64 cents a share were 17 cents higher than the second quarter of 2016 and above analysts’ forecasts, which ranged from 53 cents to 62 cents, according to Yahoo Finance. CSX said $122 million in CSX
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CONSECUTIVE BUSINESS DAYS