JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After a week of turmoil, threats of being shut down and changes to how it operates, a special City Council committee tasked to determine whether the sale of JEA would be beneficial to the city, got to ask the head of utility about its future.
CEO Paul McElroy spoke about the steps JEA is taking to make a profit, and handed over 22,000 pages of documents outlining those steps.
Recently, a motion to dismantle the committee was narrowly defeated, but the five-member committee was expanded to include all 19 City Council members.
After the committee's subpoena of McElroy generated controversy, Council also stripped the committee of subpoena power.
Before Thursday's meeting, McElroy was asked how he felt about the actions taken by council to water-down the committee's authority.
"I would say my record always stands, and I always told the truth," McElroy said. "In direct answer, I was relieved."
Council members want to know why economic projects for JEA are different depending on who is doing the calculation. The City Council auditor shows different figures than a study released by a private company in January. McElroy will provide an answer at a later date.
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News4Jax also spoke to Mayor Lenny Curry about the City Council's actions and whether the mayor had any involvement with the potential JEA sale. Curry said he takes offense to suggestions that someone in his office is pulling the string on the deal.
Curry was asked why some council members and the general public believe a deal has already been made.
"Public at large does not believe that a deal has been hatched behind closed doors," Curry said. "There has not been, and those that perpetuate that idea -- shame on them. Shame on them."
At the end of the meeting, City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche raised a big question, asking who in the mayor's office knew what when in regards the potential sale.
She presented an email from the mayor's finance director to a third party saying not to help the City Council auditor with information about JEA.
The auditor said that was the only time he knew there was a problem, and the mayor's office has been cooperating with him.