JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Republican Congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds addressed several issues affecting Jacksonville during a roundtable discussion focused on affordability.
During his stop in Jacksonville, Donalds was asked about affordable housing, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s financial challenges, and the potential impact of Amendment 3 on cities across Florida.
On housing, Donalds said he believes local and state governments need to streamline the permitting process to help increase the supply of affordable housing.
“It does start with governmental permitting operations at the local level and at the state level. They’ve got to be modernized. We modernize them, shrink those timelines down, it helps us to be able to deliver more affordable housing in the state,” Donalds said.
Donalds was also asked about JTA as it works through a reported $40 billion deficit and a probe by the state Attorney General’s Office.
If elected governor, Donalds would be responsible for appointing four new members to the JTA board.
“We want to make sure that these agencies have a consistent ability to operate and deliver on the mission that they were created to do in the first place, so if we’re going to have to go through and trim some operations and make some adjustments we will do that, because at the end of the day we have to be mindful of the taxpayer who pays for all of it,” Donalds said.
The congressman was also asked about concerns that the passage of Amendment 3 could have significant financial impacts on cities across Florida.
In response, Donalds emphasized tax relief for seniors and working families.
“Government, what we’re doing is spending other people’s money. But the people whose money that we’re taking through taxes ... their budgets have not grown, and we have to respect the taxpayer,” Donalds said.
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