JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We’re learning more about accusations that JEA may have failed to collect as much as $100 million worth of fees.
JEA rates have been on the rise, with customers seeing their bills increase by 3.7 percent last April and another 5.1 percent increase scheduled for this October.
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But at the same time the utility was approving rate hikes for its average customers, it was considering a deal that would have involved forgiving $18.9 million owed by a major company: Mayo Clinic.
Action News Jax obtained a 2024 memo offered by JEA’s former General Counsel, Regina Ross, in which she estimated Mayo’s water and sewer usage had ballooned to nearly 644,000 gallons per day, or 453 percent of the initial capacity approved back in 1995.
Ross estimated the hospital had not been charged $18.9 million for that additional capacity.
The documents show JEA and Mayo have known about and have been trying to come to a resolution on the issue since 2022
Additionally, a memo from JEA’s bond counsel, penned in October of last year, reveals JEA was working on a deal with Mayo that would involve JEA “foregoing” the past uncharged fees.
“Look, I’ve been saying for weeks there’s a crisis of confidence over here with JEA,” said Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico (R-District 4).
Carrico called the plan referenced in the memo an “outrage”.
“You know, we don’t control the rates at JEA. That’s controlled by the board, but those rates have gone up, and they’re going to continue to go up, and if there’s $18 million that we’re trying to sweep under the rug and not collect, that’s an outrage for me,” said Carrico. “I can’t believe they would even think that’s okay.”
When asked about the Mayo deal, JEA would not confirm whether it’s still considering waiving the uncollected fees, but did send a statement indicating negotiations are ongoing.
“JEA is continuing to work collaboratively with Mayo Clinic to review the historical records and reach a fair and reasonable resolution,” a JEA spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Councilmember Matt Carlucci (R-Group 4 At-Large) told Action News Jax he believes Mayo and JEA should be given time to resolve their dispute and cautioned against injecting politics into the situation.
“This is a contractual dispute, and this has been going on for I think a long time,” said Carlucci. “Let’s let the two parties work it out, and let’s keep the politics out of it. That’s what I think should be done.”
But Carrico noted the problem seems to extend beyond just Mayo.
The October memo from the utility’s bond counsel indicated additional “large commercial customers” may have also not been charged by JEA.
Carrico said the city’s Office of Inspector General is looking into the utility’s failure to charge additional capacity fees, and the total amount left on the table could be as much as $100 million.
“We have millions, if not tens but hundreds of millions of dollars in unaccounted for dollars while rates are going up is truly unacceptable,” said Carrico.
In response to our questions about the utility’s failure to collect additional capacity fees, JEA told Action News Jax on Friday it’s working to improve its billing policies.
“A program on how to properly track, identify, and bill JEA customers for “additional” capacity fees due to customer growth and expansion is currently being developed by JEA," said a JA spokesperson in an emailed statement.
Carrico said the next steps will likely be dependent on the recommendations that come out of the Inspector General’s Office, but the city council will likely become involved in some capacity.
“If we have to go further and launch an investigative committee, we want to know where that money went, and we want to know if there’s more money to collect,” said Carrico.
Action News Jax reached out to Mayo Clinic Monday afternoon for comment on this story, but has not heard back.
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