River City Rising
History of Consolidation in Jacksonville
The year was 1965. The cheapest land available in Jacksonville was along the banks of the toxin-choked St. Johns River. Economic development had hit a standstill. Taxes and crime were on the rise, while the quality and availability of city services was in steep decline. And, with a mayor commissioner and separate city and county commissions, Jacksonville's government was something of a three-ring circus.
"The city of Jacksonville was sort of going to Hades in a hand basket," says former Mayor Hans Tanzler in an interview with producers of River City Rising. "We had county commissioners getting indicted and being sentenced. We had city commissioners indicted. We had city councilmen indicted. And we had disaccredited schools. Other than that, things were fine in Jacksonville."
In January 1965, a hand-scrawled manifesto would set Jacksonville on a revolutionary course. Penned by then-Jacksonville Chamber Chairman Claude Yates, and signed by 23 of the River City's brightest business and civic minds, the proclamation demanded change:
"We the undersigned respectfully request the Duval County Delegation to the Florida Legislature to prepare an enabling act calling for the citizens of Duval County to vote on the consolidation of government within Duval to secure more efficient and effective government under one governmental body."
- Signed January 19, 1965
After a state-commissioned study and two years of exhaustive research and community input, Jacksonville voters elected, by a landslide, to consolidate the Jacksonville and Duval County governments. The results:
- A streamlined government with greater accountability
- Stronger tax base
- Improved bond rating
- New sewer treatment and distribution system
- Significantly improved air and water quality
- Integrated city and volunteer fire departments, which brought a significant decrease in fire insurance premiums throughout the county
- Improved police coverage
- Improved rescue service
- Public-Private partnerships for Downtown development
- One-stop permitting and improved growth management processes
While Consolidation hasn't cured all of Jacksonville's ills, it did usher in an era of positive change that laid the foundation for incredible growth and remains "the most important thing that ever happened to Jacksonville, without any question," Tanzler says. River City Rising aims to review Jacksonville's progress following Consolidation and to encourage leaders and citizens to refocus their energies on its original vision.
* Photo courtesy State Library and Archives of Florida
