Jacksonville True Commission Meeting – April 15, 2026

The True Commission met on April 15, 2026, beginning with a spending committee session at approximately 4:15 pm and reconvening as the full commission at 4:41 pm. The meeting included a presentation on the city’s year‑end closing process, a detailed review of the methodology and findings from the public service grant audit, and reports on several follow‑up audits. Commissioners also debated public comment rules and formed a subcommittee to examine grant funding in relation to council member affiliations.

Public Comments & Testimony

• John J. Nooney attempted to speak about matters not on the agenda (e.g., city council resolutions and waterway issues) and was initially ruled out of order. After a brief exchange, he was permitted three minutes to address the Kids Hope Alliance contracting process, which he connected to waterway access benefits for youth and seniors. He did not provide specific factual claims about the audit.
• Commissioner Bass moved to amend the bylaws to allow public comment on any subject for up to two minutes per speaker, with flexibility for large crowds. The motion was seconded and will be voted on at the next meeting after a 30‑day review period.

Discussion Items

Year‑End Closing Process (Spending Committee)

• City Controller Marcia Sello and Assistant Comptroller Joel Provenza presented an overview of the monthly, quarterly, and annual closing process for the city’s OneCloud financial system. They described coordinated department‑wide deadlines, weekly audit meetings, and progress in improving closing speed since the system’s implementation.
• Commissioner Oglesby asked about procedures to prevent overspending by JTA (which is not under city control).
• Commissioner Hargrove questioned consequences when departments miss deadlines; Ms. Sello explained that internal escalation to the CFO occurs.
• Commissioner (identified as a former banker) expressed frustration that it takes nine months to close the fiscal year, compared to 15‑20 days in the private sector. Ms. Sello said resources (staffing) are a constraint, with 50 full‑time and three part‑time employees in her division.
• Commissioner Bass acknowledged that public‑sector pay often lags behind private sector, contributing to understaffing across city departments.

Public Service Grant Audit Methodology and Findings (Full Commission)

• Brian Parks (Council Auditor’s Office) presented the sampling methodology used in the audit of public service grants and direct contracts covering October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2023. The audit had two objectives: (1) payment accuracy and timeliness, and (2) monitoring of grant recipients.
• Objective 1 (Payments): Population of $11 million in payments to 60 entities; statistically random sample of 87 invoices ($1.4 million) across 54 contracts and 37 entities. The audit concluded payments were timely but often not properly supported or accurate. Findings included lack of documentation, unsupported amounts, and no executed agreements in some cases.
• Objective 2 (Monitoring): Population of 65 grants ($11 million awarded) to 46 entities for a 12‑month period. The sample included four grants over $500,000 and eight randomly selected others, covering $5 million. The audit found that quarterly monitoring forms were not always completed, goals did not always match contract applications, and annual reviews were sometimes incomplete.
• Parks provided a list of 12 sampled entities, including Goodwill Industries of North Florida ($225,000), Cure Violence Global ($150,000), Claire White Mission, Family Foundations of Northeast Florida, Lutheran Social Services, We Care Jacksonville, Potter’s House Christian Fellowship ($800,000), Northeast Florida Sober Living Alliance ($25,000), Reintegration Solutions Inc. ($800,000), Bridges to the Cure Inc. ($800,000), Operation New Hope ($600,000), and Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless ($931,300).
• Commissioner Oglesby asked about the purpose of correlating grant recipients with council members; Chairman Barr clarified that the subcommittee was formed to examine potential affiliations, not to target any individual. Commissioner Bass emphasized the need to ensure no council member is personally profiting from grants.

Council Auditor Reports (Tommy Carter)

• Equestrian Center Follow‑up (Report 857a, March 5, 2026): All four original issues (inadequate monitoring, overpayments, lack of insurance, unsupported reimbursements) have been cleared. The center is under the Department of Parks and Recreation.
• Municipal Code Compliance Division Revenue Follow‑up (Report 726D, fourth follow‑up, March 6, 2026): Two remaining issues were cleared: employees had been accepting payments directly (instead of directing them to the Tax Collector) and former employees still had system access. Both have been corrected.
• Electronic Funds Transfers Follow‑up (Report 856B, second follow‑up): Two issues remain unresolved:
  • Deposits not recorded timely: out of 643 deposits tested, 392 were recorded more than 15 days after deposit; 45 of 62 deposits totaling $478,000 could not be confirmed.
  • User accounts of terminated employees still active: 331 accounts remained active in the system. ITD had disabled Active Directory logins but rehired employees could regain access, risking unintended system access.
• Supervisor of Elections Audit (Report 902): Focus on payments to polling locations in calendar year 2024. Findings include:
  • No written policies for selecting and contracting polling locations.
  • 14 of 376 non‑city‑owned locations lacked a rental agreement or specified rent amount.
  • $43,598.51 of $158,000 in payments was unsupported by an agreement.
  • 28 locations were paid inaccurately: $7,425 in overpayments (due to non‑processing) and $125 in one overpayment due to a location switch.
  • A payment was processed from the wrong budget account.
  • All issues from a prior 2021 audit have been cleared.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken on any substantive matter during the meeting.
• A motion to amend the bylaws to allow public comment on any subject for up to two minutes (with flexibility) was made by Commissioner Bass, seconded, and will be voted on at the next True Commission meeting (after a 30‑day review).
• The subcommittee on public service grant affiliations (chaired by Mr. Loars) will receive the full audit data and is expected to report findings in May 2026.
• The Council Auditor’s Office will continue follow‑up on the electronic funds transfers audit and the supervisor of elections audit as needed.