JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — City Council members are demanding answers from JTA following news that the agency was issued a subpoena by the Attorney General’s Office.
The Office of Statewide Prosecution is seeking information on various agency contracts, policies, and more as JTA deals with nearly 200 layoffs, a change of leadership, and a $39 million budget shortfall.
Council President Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large) said he’ll be charging a select committee to start a deep dive into what went wrong at the agency on Wednesday, while the Attorney General’s Office digs into questions of accountability.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
“We’re going to focus, not on punitive work. We’re gonna focus on corrective work to make sure the resident of Jacksonville have optimal transportation and make sure that JTA is back on a strong financial footing,” said Howland.
Mayor Donna Deegan’s office also reacted to the news of the state investigation into JTA.
“It’s important to remember that JTA is a state agency. Its staff is made up of state employees, the majority of its board is appointed by the Governor, and its budget is reviewed and approved by the Jacksonville City Council,” said a spokesperson with the mayor’s office in an emailed statement.
But the Governor only got a majority share of JTA Board appointments last summer as the result of a new state law.
Previously, the Governor and mayor both had three appointments, and the Florida Department of Transportation had one.
Now, the Governor has four, and the mayor has three.
Council’s JTA Liaison Rory Diamond (R-District 13) noted all four of the Governor’s appointees have served on the board for less than a year.
“Let’s not forget there’s a bunch of brand-new board members who frankly don’t have their hands in any of this,” said Diamond. ”But there’s some board members who have been there for quite some time who have some serious questions to answer.”
Diamond said he hopes to get those JTA board members before council to provide some of those answers soon.
“If the AG’s Office investigates, they typically don’t publish anything, so we’ll never know,” said Diamond. ”So, I think it’s important that we go ahead and ask those questions publicly.”
In a statement, JTA told Action News Jax the agency “remains committed to transparency and accountability and will provide information as requested throughout this process”.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.