JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JTA’s spending is coming under new scrutiny with an Inspector General’s report suggesting the company selected for a project may have gotten insider information from someone within the agency to help ensure it secured the pricey contract.
The contract in question was awarded by JTA to paint 17 murals at its Myrtle Avenue Operation Campus back in 2024.
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The IG’s office found that the company selected for the project, Brooklyn, New York-based Mason Nye Murals, submitted a bid in which each line item was just under the agency’s own Independent Cost Estimate.
That internal cost estimate is supposed to be kept secret, according to the report.
The final cost of the murals came in at $141,000, which was 65 percent higher than the agency’s own $85,370 price estimate.
Additionally, Mason Nye Murals charged the city $68,000 over a four-month period for travel and lodging expenses, which the report described as “exorbitant”.
“$17,000 a month to fly them down here to Jacksonville. I mean, first of all, we don’t need the mural, but was that artist so important?” said Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13).
Diamond argued the project is yet another example of wasted taxpayer dollars by JTA, which is already in the hot seat for budget overruns and a plan to increase rates for its Connexion Plus service.
“They want to spend over $100,000 on murals, and they’re trying to increase rates on people who are totally disabled. I mean, what universe are they living in?” said Diamond.
The IG report concludes the Mason Nye Murals may have received insider information, but since the employee who would have had information about the selection process is no longer with JTA, the IG’s Office decided against a full investigation.
We attempted to email Mason Nye Murals through the address listed on its website to ask how why it need $17,000 a month for travel and lodging, and whether it had received insider information.
The email bounced back as undeliverable.
When we called the listed phone number for the company, the line was disconnected.
In response to our questions, JTA argued the murals were an appropriate operational expense, and the travel and lodging expenses were reasonable since the contractor was based out of state.
The agency also claimed it couldn’t legally limit bids to local artists only.
“Importantly, the Inspector General determined that the final total project cost was fair and reasonable compared to the other estimates received, some as high as $251,000,” a JTA spokesperson told Action News Jax in an emailed statement.
Diamond said he wants to see the agency implement the corrective actions spelled out in the IG’s report to ensure taxpayer dollars are protected moving forward.
“Think about it. They’re doing hundreds of millions of dollars in vendor contracts. If they’re doing it on this one, what else are they doing?” said Diamond.
JTA indicated it intends to follow those recommendations.
“The agency remains committed to maintaining secure, fair, and transparent competition processes consistent with the Inspector General’s recommendations,” said a JTA spokesperson in an emailed statement.
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