OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Jacksonville City Council SIC on JEA Meeting - May 11, 2026

City Council — Monday, May 11, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 49:42

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon.

0:03

Welcome to the special investigative committee on JEA.

0:08

Let's begin by introductions to my far left.

0:12

Colleen Hamsey, Council of Research.

0:13

Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel.

0:15

Brian Parks, Council Auditor's Office.

0:17

Billy Peterson, Council Auditor's Office.

0:19

Jason Teal, City Council Legislative Council.

0:21

Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the beach.

0:23

Ron Salem, group two at large.

0:25

Jacobi Pittman, District 10.

0:28

Rockman Johnson, District 14.

0:29

I'm just visiting today.

0:35

Is the meeting being streamed?

0:37

Do we know that?

0:40

Oh, I understand Channel 4.

0:42

It or are it is being streamed.

0:45

You can see it.

0:46

Okay.

0:47

If you can't see it, text me.

0:49

And we'll see what we need to do.

0:51

Thank you.

0:53

Okay.

0:54

Moving through the agenda.

0:55

Update on the JEA employee survey, Mr.

0:58

Teal.

0:59

Can you and I'll jump in after you if I need to?

1:02

Sure.

1:02

Thank you, Mr.

1:03

Chair.

1:03

Through the chair of the committee.

1:04

So this is on the council's agenda for uh for next, or sorry, for tomorrow night for final action of the council.

1:10

I believe it was amended in committees uh to uh require that the uh the survey company make a presentation to the JEA board if the JEA board is willing to take um such a presentation, and for us to send it to JEA upon receipt as well.

1:28

Correct, and I believe that was always the intent of the CIC is to share that uh information with JEA.

1:32

So um I don't believe that substantially alters the JEA or I'm sorry, the SIC's um uh commitment to this.

1:39

And Mr.

1:39

Thiel and I will be meeting with uh the firm uh assuming it's passed tomorrow night uh the Wednesday, Thursday to begin finalizing the questions and hopefully get that survey out in the next uh seven to ten days, would be my hope.

1:56

Okay.

1:58

Uh update on capacity fees.

2:00

Mr.

2:01

Parks.

2:02

Yes, uh, through the chair to the committee.

2:04

Uh first off, there's not a lot of that's moved between the last one.

2:08

This I was out for an extended period of time.

2:10

Our staff has also been doing conducting the quarterly summary review that we normally do in this this period.

2:15

But we have could kind of completed our initial research portion of this.

2:19

We are starting to pull that some of the data and everything else on the flows and on some of the amounts paid to validate.

2:25

We have a series of questions and requests for data out to JA as well that we sent right before I was out.

2:30

I'll be following up on that later today.

2:32

Um, and so that's what we're working through at this point.

2:35

We're kind of past the fact-finding piece and kind of into the starting to recalculate different things.

2:40

Uh Mr.

2:41

Parks, how are you determining which entities that you're gonna pull data on?

2:48

Companies, whatever, whatever it may be.

2:52

The the ultimate goal will be to look at overall so is to get the mass data pool on the commercial side, and so we'll go through that and pull samples to validate different pieces of information that we get from them.

3:03

Um on this initial piece.

3:05

You know, there was an initial listing that kind of got out there, and we are kind of pulling some stuff on a lower level on those ones right now, is what we're working through.

3:13

Those uh I think 10 inch and larger meters and stuff like that that had been out previously.

3:18

I'm gonna ask you the question I ask at every meeting.

3:21

Do you have a time line when you might have some information such as uh the scope of this problem, dollars that may be involved, number of companies that may be involved from a big picture standpoint?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Pending Litigation█████████████████████████████████████████████85%
Procedural████8%
Community Engagement████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Jacksonville City Council Special Investigative Committee on JEA Meeting - May 11, 2026

The Special Investigative Committee (SIC) met on May 11, 2026, to discuss updates on the JEA employee survey, capacity fees, and the status of witness testimony. The committee expressed frustration over delays and stonewalling by JEA executives and voted to issue subpoenas for three key witnesses: former JEA Chief Legal Officer Regina Ross, JEA Chief Operating Officer Jody Brooks, and JEA CEO Vicky Cavey. The meeting lasted approximately one hour.

Discussion Items

  • Update on JEA Employee Survey: Jason Teal reported that the survey legislation is on the council agenda for final action on May 12. If passed, the survey firm will present to the JEA board, and Teal will meet with the firm to finalize questions, with the survey expected to be distributed within 7–10 days.
  • Update on Capacity Fees: Brian Parks stated that the initial research phase is complete, and staff is now recalculating data. They have sent requests for data to JEA and will be validating information. No timeline was provided for completion, as the process depends on data validation issues.
  • Testimony and Attorney-Client Privilege: The committee discussed the refusal of JEA executives to appear voluntarily. Chair Rory Diamond summarized email communications showing that Jody Brooks and Vicky Cavey delayed their appearances until June 8 and June 22, respectively, and the combined cycle presentation was not made available. Committee members expressed frustration, with Diamond stating the delays “look terrible” and resemble past obstruction. Regina Ross, former JEA chief legal officer, appeared voluntarily but stated she could not answer most questions due to the duty of confidentiality under Florida Bar rules. She explained that if subpoenaed, she would be able to testify on non-privileged matters. The committee voted to issue a subpoena for her testimony.

Key Outcomes

  • Subpoena for Regina Ross: The SIC voted to request the finance committee issue a subpoena for Ross to appear on June 8, 2026 (and also June 22 if needed). The committee also encouraged Ross to meet individually with JEA board members to inform them of her knowledge, with the hope that board members might reconsider waiving privilege. Ross agreed to extend invitations to all seven board members.
  • Subpoena for Jody Brooks: The SIC voted to issue a subpoena for Brooks to appear on June 8, 2026, with a requirement to produce documents (subpoena duces tecum). Jason Teal was authorized to compile a list of requested documents.
  • Subpoena for Vicky Cavey: The SIC voted to issue a subpoena for Cavey to appear on June 22, 2026, also with a subpoena duces tecum. The committee noted that if required, accommodations could be made for scheduling conflicts.
  • Next Steps: The committee will not meet on May 25 (Memorial Day) and will hold a future meeting only if needed, depending on survey progress. The committee aims to complete its work by June 30, 2026, pending witness cooperation.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Welcome to the special investigative committee on JEA. Let's begin by introductions to my far left. Colleen Hamsey, Council of Research. Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Brian Parks, Council Auditor's Office. Billy Peterson, Council Auditor's Office. Jason Teal, City Council Legislative Council. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the beach. Ron Salem, group two at large. Jacobi Pittman, District 10. Rockman Johnson, District 14. I'm just visiting today. Is the meeting being streamed? Do we know that? Oh, I understand Channel 4. It or are it is being streamed. You can see it. Okay. If you can't see it, text me. And we'll see what we need to do. Thank you. Okay. Moving through the agenda. Update on the JEA employee survey, Mr. Teal. Can you and I'll jump in after you if I need to? Sure. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Through the chair of the committee. So this is on the council's agenda for uh for next, or sorry, for tomorrow night for final action of the council. I believe it was amended in committees uh to uh require that the uh the survey company make a presentation to the JEA board if the JEA board is willing to take um such a presentation, and for us to send it to JEA upon receipt as well. Correct, and I believe that was always the intent of the CIC is to share that uh information with JEA. So um I don't believe that substantially alters the JEA or I'm sorry, the SIC's um uh commitment to this. And Mr. Thiel and I will be meeting with uh the firm uh assuming it's passed tomorrow night uh the Wednesday, Thursday to begin finalizing the questions and hopefully get that survey out in the next uh seven to ten days, would be my hope. Okay. Uh update on capacity fees. Mr. Parks. Yes, uh, through the chair to the committee. Uh first off, there's not a lot of that's moved between the last one. This I was out for an extended period of time. Our staff has also been doing conducting the quarterly summary review that we normally do in this this period. But we have could kind of completed our initial research portion of this. We are starting to pull that some of the data and everything else on the flows and on some of the amounts paid to validate. We have a series of questions and requests for data out to JA as well that we sent right before I was out. I'll be following up on that later today. Um, and so that's what we're working through at this point.

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