"It is my sole responsibility to provide safety and security for our city and more importantly, for the citizens who I serve," Williams said in a statement. "With a growing list of challenges -- be it finances, communication and timeline -- I cannot say with confidence that this event and our community will not be at risk."
His list of concerns comes as the RNC pushes ahead with plans for a scaled-back national convention in August. The new plans will mean smaller crowds, fewer speeches and the use of indoor and outdoor venues in an attempt to salvage an in-person convention in Florida, which has become one of the country's leading coronavirus hotspots.
Attendance will be limited to the 2,500 regular RNC delegates for the first three days of the convention, with delegates allowed to bring one guest and alternate delegates also allowed to attend, capping total attendance at about 7,000 people.
But Williams, a Republican, said Monday that communication issues, concerns over reimbursement and a truncated time frame have forced his department "past the point of no return to execute the event with safety and security that is our obligation."
CNN has reached out to the RNC and the Trump campaign for comment.
RNC officials decided in June to move the convention -- aside from pro-forma voting -- away from Charlotte, North Carolina, after the state's Democratic governor insisted on safety protocols including social distancing and mask-wearing, which President Donald Trump was unwilling to accept at the time.
Jacksonville Republicans had pitched the site as the best big city venue where Republicans control both city and state government.
"This is Trump country here. This is the single best city in America in which to host the Republican National Convention, and for several reasons. It's a battleground county in a battleground state, in a city where you have unified Republican governance," Duval County Republican Chairman Dean Black previously told CNN.
In 2016, Trump carried Duval County, which includes all of Jacksonville, by slightly more than 1 percentage point --- but neighboring St. Johns County by more than 30 points. The stretch of northeastern Florida is deep red Trump country, where the campaign believes it can expand their margins to help win Florida, which is crucial in building a path to 270 electoral votes.
CNN's Dan Merica, Jeff Zeleny, Ryan Nobles and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
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