JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As a Jacksonville City Council investigative committee expands its review of JEA’s workplace culture and other allegations, the Jacksonville Civic Council is urging council members to drop the probe altogether.
A public policy advocacy group made up of some of Jacksonville’s most influential leaders, the Civic Council argues that the city already has multiple oversight and legal reviews in motion for the city-owned utility that should be allowed to play out.
Recommended Videos
READ: Letter from Jacksonville Civic Council to City Council
This comes as the City Council’s special investigative committee—created by Council President Kevin Carrico amid broader controversy—has been digging into claims of a toxic workplace culture and racism at JEA and questions about water/sewer capacity fees.
But the Civic Council, pointing to the city’s charter, argues that council members are overstepping by not allowing the independent authority’s board to govern the utility.
They say Jacksonville’s independent authorities (like JEA, JTA, JPA, and JAA) are set up to be professionally managed and overseen by boards, with the City Council’s role mainly to confirm board appointments, approve budgets, and use the Inspector General for audits, while the Mayor has appointment and veto power.
The Civic Council argues those roles are meant to happen in sequence, not simultaneously through ad hoc political intervention.
And the members of the Civic Council are concerned about the potential consequences of such intervention on Jacksonville’s reputation.
“Credibility, once lost, is expensive and slow to rebuild,” the Civic Council wrote in a letter to the City Council. “This is not a partisan matter. It is a question of respecting governance structures, preserving institutional integrity, and maintaining public confidence in the City of Jacksonville.”
The Civic Council’s bottom line: JEA’s board has already initiated internal and independent reviews, the Inspector General is examining financial questions, and other legal authorities are involved—so City Council should wait for those findings, then decide what changes (if any) are needed.