Mayor Donna Deegan’s team presented over $431 million in proposed capital projects for next year’s budget, which includes the city’s first year investment in a renovated EverBank Stadium but closes 179 projects previously listed.
The city’s budget will not be as high as in recent years because of a multitude of factors, officials said Tuesday: commitments to new collective bargaining agreements, the cessation of federal American Rescue Plan dollars and lower-than-expected property taxes.
Still, the capital improvement plan includes millions for road repair, libraries, parks and drainage improvements throughout the county.
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Deegan will present the proposal with the operating budget July 15. The draft documents released this week could still change, but Anna Brosche, the city’s chief financial officer, said that any projects added will remove money elsewhere.
Last year, Deegan did not have as clear an opportunity to put her stamp on the budget because of a tight deadline from when she took office July 1 to when she presented the budget two weeks later.
“We're gonna have a very, very lean budget year, but that's the job, right?” Deegan said in an interview before the budget review committee meeting. “You decide the priorities. But at the same time, just like in any business, you have to spend money to make money, and I believe that where we are here downtown, on the Eastside, and in some of the things that we've targeted to invest in, affordable housing, I think those are the things that are going to help us to ignite that that flame.”
Separate draft capital improvement lists include over $46 million for solid waste improvement and over $11 million stormwater improvement projects.
Certain investments increased in the proposal, such as the city’s contributions to capital improvements at UF Health, which jumped from $20 million last year to $38 million.
But, other potential, largely hypothetical, spending got nixed in order to help raise the city’s credit rating.
The capital improvement plan is required to spell out the city’s five-year plan for projects but normally has a “beyond five years” category to show potential projects. Brosche, a former City Council president, said the numbers did not serve a practical purpose and almost always got pushed back further each year — but still counted against the credit rating.
So, the projects were not included next year, meaning some long-listed ideas like a new county jail are not counted.
The Times-Union requested a list of the projects cut from the plan but did not receive a copy by the time of publication. The draft said it saved over $5.6 million.
$150 million for stadium renovations
Next year’s capital improvement plan will feature a breakout section specifically on city venue improvement projects. The draft agreement shows over $175 million in the first year funded entirely by debt management.
The biggest expenditure comes from the first city installments to EverBank Stadium renovations that will ultimately total over $771 million — not including over $3 million going toward parking lot resurfacing and pipe desilting in fiscal year 2027-28.
The city will pay out $150 million in the first year, followed by another $150 million, $250 million and over $221 million in the following three years.
Other big ticket venue spending next year includes $11.3 million for the baseball grounds, as well as $3 million for ice plant replacement and $3 million for restroom replacements in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The historic Ritz Theatre would receive $500,000 for renovations and over $168,000 for building system improvements next year, followed by $1.16 million over three years for system and security improvements.
77 projects move to Better Jacksonville Plan swap
When Mayor Lenny Curry was in office, there was talk in City Hall of ending the Better Jacksonville Plan half-penny sales tax early. Voters approved the tax in 2000 to allow the funds to go toward road and infrastructure improvements, environmental preservation, targeted economic development or public facilities and the tax was slated to end at the end of 2030.
Borrowed money would have covered any remaining projects no longer paid for by the tax. Instead, the administration chose to continue the BJP tax to its original completion date — leaving the funding in place — and freeing up the debt capacity enough to borrow the necessary funds for the EverBank Stadium renovation instead.
The administration added another 77 projects to be covered by the tax next year, ultimately saving over $327 million in debt, according to the draft proposal.
Millions toward downtown parks
The proposal continues the city’s multi-year goal of funding the revitalization of parks downtown.
Overall, the 2024-25 proposal would fund over $36 million of park improvements countywide, including $6 million for Riverfront Plaza, $5 million for Shipyards West Park and $1 million for James Weldon Johnson Park.
The city also allocated over $13 million for a Southbank Riverwalk extension and docks.
A portion of the Jaguars contribution to the community benefit agreement part of the stadium deal might go toward the maintenance of downtown parks over the 30-year lease term, but the specific funds were not outlined in the plan.
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