JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With Jacksonville city officials calling a meeting Tuesday to discuss local Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, the mayor’s office released an update on cost-efficient strategies already in place. 

Jacksonville City Councilman Ron Salem called Tuesday’s DOGE meeting to present ideas and get recommendations from other council members on how the city can be most cost-efficient. 

“We’ve been working on ways to reduce waste and improve efficiency and government since I stepped through the door,” Mayor Donna Deegan said. “The timing of this seems interesting, but I welcome help from anyone anywhere who wants to help us to look at things in an intentional, practical way to reduce our cost.” 

The mayor’s office said the city partnered with LEAN Competency System, a nonprofit organization, in 2024 to help reduce wasteful hours and wasteful spending. The cost-efficiency initiative, known as 904 Lean, is focused on “smarter governance, greater efficiency and responsible financial stewardship,” which appears to be in line with the DOGE movements at federal and state levels. 

The 904 Lean initiative has helped the city cut 216,000 hours of working time, which equates to an entire year’s worth of work for 103 employees, the mayor’s office said. The city accomplished this by streamlining the permitting process, digitizing contract approvals, automating expense reports and more. 

“This means faster response times, less bureaucracy, and better services for the public,” Deegan said. “When our people are spending less time on paperwork and administrative duties, that gives them more time to fix a pothole; to help deliver meals to the food insecure; to help a business owner get their permit faster; and to save lives at the Fire Department. 904 LEAN means a better quality of life for every Jacksonville citizen.”

Deegan said more efficient budgeting means more resources for services like public safety, infrastructure and community programs. 

Salem, who is chair of the city council’s finance committee, called a meeting Tuesday to review the city’s financial outlook.

Council auditors went over the short and long-term ideas they’ve identified for this process.

Some ideas included analyzing program funding, banking investments and evaluating economic incentives.

“It’s clear to me that we are facing significant challenges with several years of revenue deduction and deficits,” Salem said. “This requires us to take a hard look at how we operate to ensure we are maximizing efficiency without compromising central service.”

Salem said he wants to approach this with financial responsibility and transparency, but not everyone is on board with this goal.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the meeting to protest what they called Elon Musk-inspired tactics.

“We know these things need to be cut; we know there needs to be control and government spending, but they’re going after the wrong things,” said Christine Hatfield, who attended the protest Tuesday. “They’re just going after the people that it’s going to hurt the most. It’s like they’re taking from the poor to get to the rich.”