The e-mail inboxes of Jacksonville City Councilmembers have been filled with constituent concerns over the recent millage increase and other budget concerns. District 3 Councilmember Richard Clark has taken full advantage of technology and deftly employed automated responses to field many of his district’s resident emails.

Earlier this week, any time an e-mail message addressed taxes or budget items, the sender received the following formatted reply from Mr. Clark:

“Thank you for your email. I hope you can attend our Town Hall meeting on the City Finances/Budget Wednesday, July 15th at 6:00pm at the FCCJ Deerwood location.  Many of my fellow Councilmembers will be in attendance with me and would like to hear from you. - Richard Clark” 

Several area residents who have compared notes are worried that their concerns aren’t being heeded and feel that Councilmember Clark is brushing them aside. One area husband and wife were both thrilled when they received the seemingly personal invitation to this week’s town hall meeting. However, they quickly realized that Mr. Clark just cut and pasted his response to both of their emails; even though they wrote him on separate, unrelated issues. 

It is always good to see the discourse of representative democracy at work, but the use of rote replies calls into question the industriousness and sincerity of a representative’s response.

Posted by Nick Callahan, District 3 Constituent

FLOG is proud to introduce Nick Callahan, an 11 year resident of Jacksonville City Council District 3, who will be posting periodic updates on legislative proceedings in City Hall. Callahan closely follows city appropriation bills, and as a Political Science Major and Masters Candidate in Public Administration at the University of North Florida, has a keen interest in ensuring open and transparent government, particularly in lean budget times. Look here for future installments from Nick: 

On June 09, 2009, the Jacksonville City Council approved Ordinance 2009-410-E, a $994,562.50 settlement with Kernan R. Hodges for land blocked by the recent Kernan Boulevard improvements. According to city records, the condemnation of one parcel for a retention pond landlocked another parcel owned by the Hodges family. The legislated settlement wound its way from committee to a floor vote in less than a month with seemingly little discussion. Whether it was poor site planning or the City General Counsel’s reluctance to take on a prominent landowner, the city of Jacksonville is now faced with having to pay nearly an additional million dollars for the project.

When asked why the ordinance was approved so quickly with little opposition, the District’s councilmember, Richard Clark, didn’t recall why he voted in favor of the bill. As a resident of Clark’s district, I’ve asked him to look into the matter and get back to me. It remains to be seen if the city’s position was so untenable that settlement was their only option — or if City Council and the General Counsel’s office opted not to fight for taxpayer dollars.

Nick Callahan, 
District 3 constituent