The Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday backed a scaled-down taxpayer subsidy package for a private developer’s plans to build an apartment high-rise and Publix downtown. But the high-stakes decision, which involved a direct multimillion-dollar grant to the builders, required two separate and closely divided votes.
The incentive package initially passed 10-8. But the council voted a second time because council member Reggie Gaffney Jr. initially didn’t register a vote one way or another, which generated whispers among the audience. Gaffney, who was present, denied that his phantom vote was intended to side-step a hard decision.
“At the end of the day, sometimes in life, things are much bigger than you, and did I want to halt the progress of the whole entire city of Jacksonville just to be selfish for my district?” Gaffney asked rhetorically after the meeting.
The council voted a second time, with Gaffney’s vote appearing on the screen in favor of the future payout, for a final approval of 11-8.
Republican council members Michael Boylan, Kevin Carrico, Randy White, Ken Amaro and Matt Carlucci voted with the council’s Democratic members, including Gaffney, in approving the tax incentive, joining Mayor Donna Deegan’s plans for continued downtown investment despite a coming period of forced austerity thanks to the passage of Amendment 3, a major property-tax cut voters approved last week.
“The combination of a full-service grocery store and pharmacy with more retail and residents makes the next phase of Pearl Square a truly transformational project, one that will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in commercial tax revenue that can be invested in neighborhoods across the city,” Deegan said in a statement after the vote. “A thriving downtown is good for the entire city, and this is an investment in our collective future.”
Prior to Tuesday evening, Gaffney had said he was unsure how he’d ultimately vote on the question, but said he came to the “right decision” after speaking to family, friends, constituents, and even ChatGPT.
This is not the first time a vote of high importance depended on the whims of a member of the Gaffney family, which has had a presence in city politics for decades.
In 2012, Johnny Gaffney, his uncle and former city council member, cast the deciding vote against a proposed bill to expand local discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, saying he was “confused.”
His father Reggie Gaffney, who is launching a bid to rejoin the council representing District 10, also publicly reneged on a plan to support Doyle Carter for vice president of the council in 2016.
“Thank you, the 11 of you who had the courage and the tenacity to vote yes,” said District 9 Council Member Tyrona Clark-Murray. “We have to have faith. We gotta have faith in this city and faith in the people. Thank you again for representing the people.”
The meeting got testy at times, including a debate over Aldi, formerly a long-standing Harvey’s on North Market Street which is downtown’s only grocery store.
The council first overwhelmingly approved an amendment reducing the project’s completion grant – a cash distribution paid out upon completion of the project – from more than $28 million to around $9 million – taking already authorized funds from the Shipyard West CRA project, the Riverfront Plaza restaurant project, and from another Gateway Jax project.
“We essentially eliminated two projects, or at least paused them for the foreseeable future,” said Colin Tarbert, the CEO of the Downtown Investment Authority. The DIA is committing $12 million from their funding to decrease the operating fund’s contribution to the completion grant.
Cyndy Trimmer, a lobbyist for the developer Gateway Jax, said the developer is moving $7 million approved for another Pearl Street project to the Publix and highrise project, known as N7. Previously, Gateway Jax said the Publix project could not move forward without financial help from taxpayers.
The vote leaves the city with about $90 million in future grants and loans to pay out in cash the next few years to mostly developers and corporations, while many council members raised concerns about Amendment 3, a major property-tax cut voters approved last week that will eventually slash about $300 million from the city’s general fund. Statewide, 62 percent of Floridians voted to increase the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
The unfunded incentives could be pulled from the city’s reserves, which remain healthy, or other sources during the budget year, like using savings realized within a year, the council auditor has said.
“If your employer tells you you’re going to have a pay cut coming at the end of the year, you’re going to start making provisions now for those adjustments, and we’ve got to be wise and look at what the future holds,” said Council Member Mike Gay, who voted no.
Residents at the meeting who spoke against the Publix development voiced concerns about giving taxpayer money to developers, while others talked about the importance of a grocery store downtown and continued commercial growth.
Jamie Travis-Leonard, a frequent commenter at city meetings, said she would have supported a low-interest loan rather than a cash incentive from the city, despite a need for investment in underserved neighborhoods.
“We are now paying for them to build and own property in downtown, and that is where my issue is,” Travis-Leonard said, referring to developers. “We make a lot of concessions for developers in this town. We give them a lot of handouts, and I prefer a hand-up.”
Molly Farrar is a Report for America corps member and the Florida Trib’s Jacksonville municipal watchdog reporter. She can be reached at molly.farrar@floridatrib.org.
