JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville’s City Council President has officially convened a new select committee to do an autopsy report on what went wrong with JTA’s budget, determine how it can be fixed moving forward and decide if and how the local option gas tax should be reworked to stabilize the agency’s budget.
Council President Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large) said the committee’s main goal will be to get to the bottom of how the agency’s financial situation went south so fast.
“And why that’s so important is we need to figure out the right way to get out of it,” said Howland.
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When JTA CEO Nat Ford announced he would be leaving the agency on July 3, he said JTA was, “operationally strong and well-positioned for the future.”
An audit of the agency completed three days before that announcement came to a similar conclusion, finding the agency’s budgets for the upcoming fiscal year were “balanced”.
But just one month after that audit report was officially turned over to the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee on July 22, which was nearly a month after the submission deadline, JTA’s new Chief Financial Officer Randall Barnes announced JTA’s budget shortfall had ballooned to more than $30 million.
Howland said the select committee’s goal is to focus on corrective measures, but suggested its findings could be referred to other agencies or even trigger a council-led investigation.
“First, we need the buses to roll. Jacksonville families and businesses depend on it, then we’ll look at the heads,” said Howland.
Howland said the committee will also do a deep dive on the new JTA budget approved by council last week to determine whether anything needs to be changed.
Mayor Donna Deegan issued a statement standing behind Howland’s efforts.
“My administration stands ready to work with committee members on identifying constructive solutions,” Deegan said.
Before the select committee gets to work, JTA will appear before all four standing council committees next week to provide an overview on the agency’s current financial situation.
“And that should give the opportunity for all of council members to ask questions. It’ll also bring further transparency to Jacksonville as a whole,” said Howland.
Council will also be considering emergency legislation next week to allow JTA to borrow money from its share of the local option gas tax to help pay off a $40 million line of credit it opened up earlier this year.
Howland said the select committee will also look into how JTA’s share of that gas tax revenue could be reworked permanently.
A final report will be due on December 4.
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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s full statement:
“JTA is a regional state transportation agency with state employees, a majority of board members that are appointed by the Governor, and a budget that is reviewed and approved by the Jacksonville City Council. It’s going to take all of us working together to fix this situation.
“I support President Howland directing the Financial Audit and Oversight Select Committee to get more answers on how we got here and make recommendations that improve JTA’s financial standing over the long term. My administration stands ready to work with committee members on identifying constructive solutions.
“It’s unfortunate that customers and employees are facing significant disruption right now. Every action we take must improve the lives of our citizens and the services they rely on every day, while delivering more transparency, accountability, and protection of taxpayer dollars.”
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