JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council’s Special Investigatory Committee continues its probe Monday into allegations involving JEA.
Along with workplace culture concerns, they’re looking into whether the utility failed to collect millions in “capacity” fees that help pay for water and sewer infrastructure over several years.
The committee was formed by City Council President Kevin Carrico after the City of Jacksonville Office of Inspector General requested assistance related to allegations about the capacity fees.
Capacity fees are payments typically charged to certain customers, especially tied to development and large-scale use. Those fees are meant to help support infrastructure like water and electric systems.
As Jacksonville grew fast, some developments expanded far beyond their original plans. Now, the concern is that some of those fees might not have been properly collected over time — potentially adding up to millions of dollars.
Council members have been requesting documents, questioning witnesses, and trying to determine the scope of the problem, where that money went and whether the city can still recover money it was owed.
One councilmember estimated the total could reach as high as $100 million.
Jacksonville City Councilman Michael Boylan, who has worked closely with JEA in the past, said those fees are critical to funding infrastructure.
“Capacity fees are the infrastructure needs necessary for JEA to provide the service they are looking for. It’s a very big ticket and big number as it relates to the Mayo Clinic and the process of what they are doing,” Boylan said. “I think that is going to be resolved at some point in time. I suspect they kind of pushed aside. I wish management had dealt with it at the time. I think they are going to have to deal with it straight up now.”
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The committee’s first meeting was dominated by a dispute over access to Regina Ross, a former JEA lawyer working for the city’s Office of General Counsel. Committee members have said auditors need to speak with Ross to move forward on the capacity-fee review, but the city has raised concerns about attorney-client privilege.
Wilson: ‘Everybody is scared for their job’
Former JEA Chief of Staff Kurt Wilson testified before the committee for nearly an hour at a previous meeting.
He told the committee he believes fear has spread among employees and said he witnessed what he described as troubling treatment of staff. He said employees were “scared for their job,” and described what he said was a shift in the workplace environment.
“The minute I tried to speak up, she would slap the table in front of me and say ‘No’,” Wilson said of CEO Vickie Cavey.
Wilson said he was reluctant to provide additional specific examples in public because he feared identifying employees.
“If I give the examples, she will know who the individuals are,” he said. “I am scared to death if I give you an example today.”
Wilson also addressed the capacity-fee dispute, saying JEA became aware of the issue in 2022. He said that when some customers do not pay what is owed, other customers effectively subsidize the system.
Wilson said he was not aware of any settlement and said the issue can create negative optics for the utility. But he said he does not believe there is any effort to hide the issue from the public.
“No, I don’t feel like there was a concerted effort to hide,” he said. “Not trying to keep this hush hush it wasn’t like that.”
Concerns about ‘overreach’ and council authority
Some council members raised concerns about the scope of the investigation and City Council’s authority over JEA, which operates as an independent authority.
Boylan and Councilmember Matt Carlucci said the council does not have the ability to order JEA to discipline employees or change internal practices.
“I think what we are doing here is overreach,” Boylan said. “Not to mention I think its an unnecessary use of tax dollars.”
Councilman Rory Diamond pointed to several years ago when JEA CEO Aaron Zahn was federal charged after city council investigations.
“Where were you 5 years ago with ‘overreach,’” Diamond said.
“These are employee complaints,” Carlucci said. “Back then was criminal. That’s totally different.”
After the meeting, Salem told News4JAX that the committee’s actions would primarily involve providing information to the JEA Board, which would ultimately decide what actions to take.
“We will provide that information to the JEA board and then they’ll have to make the ultimate decision,” Salem said. “I just think this [board] in particular did not take the action they should have roughly a month ago.”