Make safety and personal responsibility your first and foremost concern. Everyone in the Jacksonville area can make a difference in the fight against drunken driving. It doesn't matter whether a board of executives or the City Council determines the cost of life's needs. There is a group-think notion that the government should give money back to the people. Water keeps me alive.
Government services are the best bargain in town.
At the signing ceremony, both Bush and Rep. Bill Sublette, the bill's sponsor, thanked those who were instrumental in supporting the bill and gave a lot of credit to my organization and the U.S. Navy for our part in supporting this legislation. The maximum allowable interest rate for title loans was reduced from 264 percent to 30 percent per year. Although the Navy's involvement did help, a great deal of credit goes to Mayor John Delaney, the Jacksonville City Council and Jacksonville's former Consumer Affairs Division director, Helen Ridley. The city of Jacksonville was the first of 36 local or county governments to place limits on these exorbitant interest rates when it became clear that the state government was unwilling or unable to pass meaningful legislation. This action by our city leaders was met with strong opposition, but the ordinance passed unanimously because it was clearly the right thing to do, particularly for our most vulnerable citizens.