The Jacksonville City Council voted 14 to 5 Wednesday to pass the local option gas tax increase, slated to fund more than $900 million in infrastructure projects.
For the first time in the 53-year history of Jacksonville and Duval County’s consolidated government, City Council will be led by two African American lawmakers. The 19-member Council chose at-large members Sam Newby and Terrance Freeman on May 25 as president and vice president for its 2021-22 year, starting July 1. Council members unanimously chose Vice President Newby as president. He ran unopposed. Newby, 57, is a second-term Republican elected to the Council’s Group 5 At-Large seat in 2015 and reelected in March 2020. He worked for PepsiCo for 30 years and is a past vice chairman of the Republican Party of Duval County. He also served as president of the Joseph E. Lee Republican Club.
Council member Danny Becton, who opposes increasing the gas tax, said the Jacksonville s growth keeps generating tax money that city leaders can use for infrastructure needs. It certainly validates the fact that our city continues to receive additional revenue increases every year as our city continues to grow, Becton said. At some point, when is enough enough in terms of asking the taxpayers to pony up revenue? Mayor Lenny Curry, who proposed the gas tax increase, has said that while the city has greatly boosted spending on its capital improvement programs since he took office in 2015, the gas tax is needed to catch up on the backlog.
Final vote on Jacksonville gas tax expected next week after committee approves bill with some changes One council member says they are not all there yet on approving the gas tax increase up to 12 cents. Author: Troy Kless (First Coast News) Published: 7:22 PM EDT May 19, 2021 Updated: 7:25 PM EDT May 19, 2021 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. An extra six cents of gas tax is one step closer to becoming reality in Duval County. On Wednesday, a committee of the whole council approved the local option gas tax bill, setting it up for a final vote next week. Mayor Lenny Curry, who has supported the gas tax increase tweeted that the decision fulfills the decades-old promises of infrastructure improvements through city consolidation.
The Jacksonville City Council on May 19 earmarked $132 million for the 30-mile Emerald Trail network in a bill that would increase Duval County’s local option gasoline tax. The Council’s 13-6 vote moves the legislation from the Committee of the Whole, setting up a final vote at a special meeting May 26 on Mayor Lenny Curry’s proposal to increase Duval County’s gas tax from 6 cents to 12 cents per gallon to pay for nearly $1 billion in infrastructure projects. Council member Matt Carlucci, who proposed the amendment to fund the Emerald Trail, said the $132 million would be enough to complete the park project that would connect neighborhoods throughout the county to the urban core.