The City Council spent Monday in a day-long facilitated retreat that produced a draft code of conduct, a frank airing of where council and staff misread each other, and a proposal that could change what residents hear back after they step to the podium.
The session ran from morning through late afternoon and was led by facilitators from the Florida Institute of Government, the same group that guided the city's strategic plan. Council members and department staff worked in rotating small groups, took anonymous polls, and sat through a primer on communication styles before the council moved to draft what facilitators called a behavioral charter; a written statement of commitment the consultants will finalize and return to the city.
After much discussion, the council settled on a short list of behaviors it wants residents to see over the next year, among them respect, engagement, listening, clear communication, shared public purpose, and coming to meetings prepared. Two draft statements emerged before the day ended. On preparation: the council will arrive informed and ready to ask thoughtful questions, listen to understand, and work through the information provided in order to make sound decisions. On disagreement: members acknowledged they will not always agree but committed to respectful, open dialogue.
The most concrete potential change for residents concerned Courtesy of the Floor. Under current practice, speakers are given three minutes to speak and told the council will not respond from the dais, though someone may follow up afterward. Several members argued that leaves residents feeling unheard. Councilwoman Sandy Golding said the council should at least take up citizen concerns during the discussion of a related agenda item so speakers hear the answers. Others cautioned that responding to some speakers and not others sets an uneven precedent, and that council frequently lacks the information to answer on the spot. The city manager was asked to place the question on an upcoming council briefing agenda.
A recurring theme, raised independently by nearly every member, was that residents misunderstand Jacksonville Beach's form of government. It was noted how the public often assumes the mayor sets policy and directs staff, as the Jacksonville mayor does, when Jacksonville Beach operates under a council– manager structure, with a largely ceremonial mayor.
The issue of trust surfaced repeatedly between council and staff. Councilman John Wagner tried to clarify the disconnect by saying a vote against a staff recommendation is not evidence of distrust, it's only disagreement. Staff, for their part, described the difficulty of moving on issues while fielding constant individual complaints, and asked for clearer, more consistent direction. Both sides credited the regular briefings instituted under the current city manager as the venue where that alignment now happens.
The charter the council drafted Monday carries no legal force, and the facilitators were explicit that nothing adopted was binding policy. Its real function is as a standard residents can hold the council to, meeting by meeting. The document is expected to return to the city in final form in the coming weeks.
