OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Workshop on JEA Special Investigative Committee and Subpoenas - May 19, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, May 19, 2026
BodyJacksonville, Florida
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 19, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 46:58
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Alright, we're gonna get we're gonna start here in just a little bit, but Jason Teal is supposed to be here.

0:06

Well, so Mr.

0:09

Foote, please call Mr.

0:11

Teal.

0:19

That's what we're we're we're putting the search committee out.

0:24

We could we could issue a subpoena.

0:27

What's the notice for that?

0:28

Yay.

0:29

Yay.

0:30

We have one motion or say.

0:33

Okay, he's here.

0:36

No, no, no.

0:37

There he is.

0:38

Alright.

0:38

We almost had to issue a subpoena for you, sir.

0:41

Yeah.

0:43

No, it's not a laughing matter.

0:44

We would have done it.

0:47

All right.

0:48

Um good afternoon, everybody.

0:52

This is um a little finance workshop, but obviously it's for for anyone who wants to attend.

0:58

Uh Councilmember Halland uh isn't able to attend, he's not feeling well today.

1:03

So he will be listening in just uh for whatever that's worth.

1:07

Um so we'll start with introductions, but really all we're here to do is kind of get a just an overall idea of what the special investigative committee has been doing.

1:20

Um for those of us who haven't been able to follow along super super closely for the day to day.

1:25

I've obviously seen things in the news and read about it, but the exact information I just wanted all of us to hear from Mr.

1:33

Teal, and obviously we have um two of the sick committee members on finance as well joining us.

1:38

So just to kind of flesh out any questions, kind of get an idea of how did we get to this point where we're at today, and so on and so forth.

1:46

So we'll start with introductions to the left and then we'll go to Mr.

1:49

Teal and we'll go from there.

1:52

Colleen Hamsey, Council Research, Harry Stefopoulis, Office of General Counsel.

1:57

Philip Peterson, Council Auditor's office.

1:59

Kim Taylor, Council Auditor.

2:00

Good morning, Roy Diamond, District 13, the beaches.

2:03

Ron Salem group two at large.

2:05

Will Lane District.

2:06

Joe Carlucci, District 5.

2:08

Good morning, Raw Aries, District 11.

2:10

Good morning, Michael Boylan, District 6.

2:12

Just visiting.

2:13

All right.

2:14

Good deal.

2:15

So with that, we will kind of go ahead and allow Mr.

2:19

Teal really as much time as you need.

2:22

What did we notice this for a certain end time, Ms.

2:25

Defopoulos?

2:27

Okay, okay.

2:28

You have until 11 45.

2:30

Okay, awesome.

2:31

So we'll go to uh Mr.

2:33

Teal and then we'll bring it back for discussion and questions and yeah, take it away.

2:38

Thank you, Mr.

2:39

Chair.

2:39

Jason Teal, City Council Secretary and Legislative Council.

2:42

So I'm gonna have about 20 minutes probably to save uh plenty of time if you uh have questions or if um council member Salem or Councilmember Diamond wants to weigh in on anything uh that they uh uh think needs to be expanded on.

2:55

But basically, what this is is that the uh council president created the uh special investigative committee on uh JEA on March 11th, and it originated uh with a request from the Inspector General for the council to investigate uh the JEA's failure to appropriately collect capacity fees uh from developers whose developments exceeded the uh their uh or expanded their developments by greater than 20% over what they were originally approved for, what they originally paid into uh the capacity fee fund for.

3:25

Uh and separately from that issue, there was a separate issue with regard to allegations that were made to the JEA board by one of their board members about complaints of a toxic work environment and racism that's uh against Vicky Cavey, who was uh JEA's CEO.

3:43

Uh and after the the JEA board failed to conduct an investigation into the allegation, that charge was also added to the SIC's charge in its original charging document of of March 11th.

3:55

Uh now part of the SIC process, there was information received uh separately about a proposed combined cycle electric generation facility or plant that JEA had committed a 350 $350 million non-refundable deposit uh for which JEA had not yet received any regulatory approvals uh to construct.

4:17

And so at the request of the SIC on April 25th or 23rd, rather, the council president uh amended and expanded the SIC's charge to investigate the combined cycle plant as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Miscellaneous█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Pending Litigation███████████████████27%
Personnel Matters███5%
Procedural██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Workshop on JEA Special Investigative Committee and Subpoenas - May 19, 2026

This finance workshop was held to update council members on the work of the Special Investigative Committee (SIC) regarding issues at JEA, including capacity fee collections, a toxic work environment, and a combined cycle plant. The meeting focused on the three subpoenas requested for witnesses, including OGC attorney Regina Ross, and the status of investigations. Council members asked questions and heard from Jason Teal (Council Secretary and Legislative Counsel) and from Charles Fackler (General Counsel), who requested that Ms. Ross not be subpoenaed or be subpoenaed only on the last date.

Discussion Items

  • Overview of SIC Charges: Council Secretary Jason Teal presented the three areas under investigation: (1) JEA's failure to collect capacity fees from developments that exceeded prior approvals by more than 20%; (2) allegations of a toxic work environment and racism against CEO Vicky Cavey; and (3) a $350 million non-refundable deposit for a combined cycle electric generation plant made without regulatory approvals.
  • Capacity Fee Issue: The Inspector General investigation revealed that JEA had not properly collected capacity fees. OGC attorney Regina Ross authored a memo on the issue. The SIC requested a waiver of attorney-client privilege from the JEA board to allow Ross to testify, but the board denied that request on April 14, 2026. The SIC then asked the council auditors to calculate total arrearages (regardless of collectability), going as far back as possible.
  • Toxic Work Environment and Employee Survey: The SIC selected a firm (Selection Link) to conduct a targeted employee survey focusing on interactions with the CEO. This is separate from JEA's own "temperature check" survey, which employees reportedly distrusted due to past retribution. The council survey results are expected by late June or early July 2026.
  • Witness Scheduling and Subpoenas: Ms. Ross, CAO Jody Brooks, and CEO Vicky Cavey were requested to appear. Brooks and Cavey canceled or declined availability until June (June 8 and June 22, respectively). Ms. Ross stated she could only testify if compelled by subpoena, due to Florida Bar ethical rules. The SIC therefore requested subpoenas for all three, with Ross to appear on both June 8 and June 22 if needed. Teal confirmed the subpoenas are for the dates the witnesses had indicated they were available.
  • Mr. Fackler's Request: General Counsel Charles Fackler asked the committee not to subpoena Ms. Ross, arguing it would put her in a difficult position regarding attorney-client privilege and would harm trust in the Office of General Counsel. He suggested, as an alternative, that if a subpoena is issued, Ms. Ross be called only on the last day (June 22) after other witnesses have testified.
  • Councilmember Comments: Councilmember Salem (SIC chair) explained that the IG had recommended the council investigate the capacity fee issue and that the SIC needs the total dollar figure regardless of statute of limitations. Councilmember Diamond emphasized that the process is about transparency and ensuring employee anonymity, similar to the 2019 SIC. Councilmember Boylan questioned the evidence of employee distrust and noted that senior managers he spoke with did not witness the incidents described. Councilmember Arias asked about the unidentified entities that benefited from unpaid capacity fees and the status of two JEA employees who were working on the calculation before being reassigned/demoted.

Key Outcomes

  • The finance committee will receive copies of the subpoenas at its 1:00 PM meeting on the same day. The subpoenas will compel Ms. Ross, Ms. Brooks, and Ms. Cavey to appear on the dates they previously indicated (June 8 and June 22, 2026).
  • The council survey is proceeding, with results expected in late June or early July.
  • The capacity fee arrearage calculation by council auditors is ongoing; the committee wants a total figure for as far back as possible, even if some amounts may be uncollectible due to statute of limitations.
  • Witness testimony and document requests are expected to address the allegations of toxic work environment, the role of HR, and the circumstances surrounding the reassignment of employees who were calculating capacity fees.
  • The SIC anticipates completing witness testimony by June 22, but the capacity fee analysis may extend into July 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Alright, we're gonna get we're gonna start here in just a little bit, but Jason Teal is supposed to be here. Well, so Mr. Foote, please call Mr. Teal. That's what we're we're we're putting the search committee out. We could we could issue a subpoena. What's the notice for that? Yay. Yay. We have one motion or say. Okay, he's here. No, no, no. There he is. Alright. We almost had to issue a subpoena for you, sir. Yeah. No, it's not a laughing matter. We would have done it. All right. Um good afternoon, everybody. This is um a little finance workshop, but obviously it's for for anyone who wants to attend. Uh Councilmember Halland uh isn't able to attend, he's not feeling well today. So he will be listening in just uh for whatever that's worth. Um so we'll start with introductions, but really all we're here to do is kind of get a just an overall idea of what the special investigative committee has been doing. Um for those of us who haven't been able to follow along super super closely for the day to day. I've obviously seen things in the news and read about it, but the exact information I just wanted all of us to hear from Mr. Teal, and obviously we have um two of the sick committee members on finance as well joining us. So just to kind of flesh out any questions, kind of get an idea of how did we get to this point where we're at today, and so on and so forth. So we'll start with introductions to the left and then we'll go to Mr. Teal and we'll go from there. Colleen Hamsey, Council Research, Harry Stefopoulis, Office of General Counsel. Philip Peterson, Council Auditor's office. Kim Taylor, Council Auditor. Good morning, Roy Diamond, District 13, the beaches. Ron Salem group two at large. Will Lane District. Joe Carlucci, District 5. Good morning, Raw Aries, District 11. Good morning, Michael Boylan, District 6. Just visiting. All right. Good deal. So with that, we will kind of go ahead and allow Mr. Teal really as much time as you need. What did we notice this for a certain end time, Ms. Defopoulos? Okay, okay. You have until 11 45. Okay, awesome. So we'll go to uh Mr.

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