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DUVAL COUNTY · LOCALlocal legislationEnacted

Enacted

Creation of a New Value Adjustment Board Division

Original title: ORD-MC Creating a Value Adjustment Board (VAB) Division within the City Council Office of the Council Secretary; Amend Sec 11.101 (Office of the Council Secretary Created), 11.103 (Functions of the Office), 11.105 (Legislative Services Division; Staffing), & 11.122 (Executive Committee, Personnel Committee; Appointment & Discharge), Ch 11 (Office of the Council Secretary), Ord Code, to Reflect Various Revisions Associated with Creation of the VAB Division; Amending Section 11.104 (Legislative Services Division; Chief of Legislative Services), Chapter 11 (Office of the Council Secretary), Ordinance Code, To Reflect the Current Process For Appointment of the Chief of Legislative Services Division; Creating Sec 11.110 (Value Adjustment Board Division; Chief/Deputy Clerk of Value Adjustment Board), 11.111 (Value Adjustment Board Division; Staffing), & 11.112 (Duties of the Value Adjustment Board Division), Ch 11 (Office of the Council Secretary), Ord Code, to Create a VAB Division within the Office of the Council Secretary; Amend Sec 17.06 (Applicability of Civil Service System to Employees of Consolidated Government), Article 17 (Civil Service), City Charter, to Add Various Positions within the Office of the Council Secretary to the List of Employees Exempt from the Civil Svc Provisions of the Charter; Prov Codification Instructions; Req 1 Cycle Emergency Passage (Staffopoulos) (Introduced by CM White) (Co-Sponsors CMs Lahnen & Johnson) 2/11/25 CO Introduced: R 2/18/25 R Emergency/Amend/Approve 6-0 2/25/25 CO PH Emergency/Amend/Approve 16-0 Public Hearing Pursuant to Ch 166, F.S. & C.R. 3.601 - 2/25/25

Record date · February 25, 2025

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What This Bill Does

This ordinance establishes a new Division within the City Council's Office of the Council Secretary. It updates city code to define the division's duties, staffing, and leadership, while also exempting specific new positions within this division from the city's standard civil service protections.

Why it matters

This change reorganizes how property tax appeals are processed in the city by moving the Value Adjustment Board administration into the Council Secretary's office and changing the employment status of staff working in that division.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Office of the Council Secretary

The office is now responsible for managing the new Value Adjustment Board Division.

Directly affected

VAB Division Employees

Staff in these roles are now classified as exempt from the city's civil service provisions.

Key Facts

Establishes a new Value Adjustment Board (VAB) Division within the Office of the Council Secretary.
Creates new sections 11.110, 11.111, and 11.112 of the Ordinance Code to define VAB Division duties, staffing, and leadership.
Amends sections 11.101, 11.103, 11.105, and 11.122 to integrate the new VAB Division into existing office structures.
Updates section 11.104 to reflect current appointment processes for the Chief of Legislative Services.

Show all 7 facts

Amends Section 17.06 of the City Charter to exempt new VAB Division positions from the Civil Service System.
The ordinance was passed as an emergency measure.
The ordinance was approved by the City Council with a 16-0 vote on February 25, 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Value Adjustment Board do?

The Value Adjustment Board is responsible for hearing appeals regarding property tax assessments and exemptions.

What does it mean for a position to be exempt from the Civil Service System?

Employees in these positions are not subject to the standard civil service protections, which typically include specific hiring, promotion, and termination procedures.

What else do you want to know?

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Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Consolidation of VAB Administration

The city is centralizing the administration of property tax appeals directly under the Council Secretary's office, moving away from previous organizational structures.

Office of the Council Secretary Value Adjustment Board

Connected Entities

CM Lahnen, CM White, City Council and 1 more

PersonCM Lahnen“Co-sponsor of the legislation.”Map →

PersonCM White“Council Member who introduced the legislation.”Map →

OrganizationCity Council“The governing body enacting the ordinance.”Map →

PersonCM Johnson“Co-sponsor of the legislation.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

webapi.legistar.com

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance60
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy20
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level

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