JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville city council member grilled JTA’s new CFO as the finance committee dug into the agency’s proposed budget for the upcoming year Friday morning.
The hearing came just days after it was revealed JTA’s projected cost overruns for this year had ballooned to $32.8 million.
“What is the city’s obligation if JTA runs out of cash?” asked Council President Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large).
Outgoing JTA CEO Nat Ford was notably absent from the hearing.
“He should be answering these questions. And I like him. He’s a friend. I know he’s leaving, but he should be here,” said Councilmember and JTA Liaison Rory Diamond (R-District 13).
JTA’s new Chief Financial Officer Randall Barnes attributed the shortfalls to lower-than-expected sales tax revenues, lower interest earnings due to a lack of cash on hand and improper budgeting for employee costs.
He noted the agency recently took out a $40 million line of credit to help address current budget shortfalls and pay more than $22 million in unpaid bills.
“And that’s going to allow us to catch up on our bills basically,” said Barnes.
But that action in and of itself raised concerns.
“Those are red flags of a failing business,” said Councilmember Mike Gay (R-District 2).
JTA’s proposed budget cuts $23 million compared to current year spending.
Some of the cuts include canceling four bus routes, slashing the NAVI autonomous vehicle budget in half and eliminating 25 positions.
Council members questioned why the agency doesn’t consider canceling NAVI altogether, and floated the idea of reopening contract negotiations on the local option gas tax to redirect funding away from projects like the Emerald Trail towards standard operating costs.
“There’s no way the Emerald Trail can continue the way it’s currently planned. We were supposed to have $120 million from the federal government and that got lost. So, we’ve got to reduce it. We’ve got to be rational,” said Diamond.
Finance Chair Will Lahnen (R-District 3) said he wants to see JTA report back to the finance committee on a monthly basis moving forward.
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