Special Committee on JEA: Capacity Fees Update and Employee Survey Approval - May 26, 2026
Special Committee on JEA Meeting: May 26, 2026
The Special Committee on JEA convened shortly after 1:00 PM on May 26, 2026, with Councilmember Ron Salem (Group 2 at Large) presiding. Members present included Councilmembers Rory Diamond (District 13) and Jacoby Pittman (District 10), along with staff: Colleen Hamsey (Council Research), Mary Stefopoulos (Office of General Counsel), Brian Parks (Council Auditor's Office), and Kim Taylor (Council Auditor). The committee discussed the status of a JEA capacity fee analysis, finalized and approved a targeted employee culture survey, and outlined upcoming testimony.
Discussion Items
- Capacity Fee Analysis Update: Brian Parks reported that the committee recently received data needed for the capacity fee review. Analysis is underway and may extend beyond the June 30 target date. He noted that verification will involve sampling and cannot rely solely on the provided data. The committee emphasized the importance of taking the necessary time to ensure accuracy.
- JEA Employee Survey Overview: Councilmember Salem explained there are two surveys: a company-wide JEA survey (every two years, last done in 2024) sent to over 2,000 employees as a broad “temperature check,” and a targeted survey commissioned by the Special Investigative Committee (SIC) for approximately 150 management-level employees. A third effort by an outside law firm is conducting interviews with senior leadership about workplace culture. Councilmember Pittman requested a copy of the JEA survey to compare questions.
- SIC Survey Content and Approval: Councilmembers reviewed the draft survey. Salem moved to remove all references to “senior leadership” and focus solely on CEO Vicky Kavey, per the committee's charge. Rory Diamond supported the change and suggested adding a question about whether respondents feel comfortable being honest in surveys. Pittman noted the importance of including other names (e.g., Diane Mosier) that have arisen in complaints. It was agreed to add freelance comment questions at the end for other leadership or issues rather than amending the committee’s charge. The survey was approved by voice vote (all ayes) with flexibility for minor edits by staff.
- Willingness of Employees to Testify: Councilmember Pittman reported that several current and former employees are now willing to testify if protected from retaliation. Jason Teal (committee staff) suggested meeting with them first to assess protections under whistleblower laws and any non-disclosure agreements, with assistance from the Office of General Counsel. The committee agreed to this approach.
Key Outcomes
- Survey Approved: The committee unanimously approved the SIC employee culture survey, with modifications: references to senior leadership removed, questions added on honesty in surveys and open-ended comment sections for other concerns. Staff will proceed with distribution using a third-party vendor (Selection Link), with emails sent to personal addresses to ensure anonymity.
- Future Meeting Schedule: The next meeting will occur in two weeks (approximately June 9, 2026) at 11:00 AM, featuring testimony from Jody Brooks and Regina Ross on combined cycle issues. A second hearing on June 22, 2026, will include Vicky Kavey’s testimony, with Regina Ross also scheduled to provide rebuttal after Kavey speaks.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Let me call the special committee on JEA to order. It is just a little bit after one o'clock, and uh let's start with introductions to my far left. Colleen Hamsey, Council Research. Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Brian Parks, Council Auditor's Office. Kim Taylor, Council Auditor. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the beaches. Ron Salem, Group 2 at large. Jacoby Pittman, District 10. Okay, thank you everybody for joining us. Um I don't know that the meeting will go on very long, but uh we'll get through the information we've got. Let me start with uh Ms. Taylor and an update on capacity fees, or is Mr. Park's gonna do that? I guess he needs to. Okay. Yeah, through the through the chair to the committee. Um not a lot have we been able to get going since the last meeting. However, we did just recently receive the data. So we are going to be able to push through on getting things moving forward. There is a chance we could be ready by you know what I mean to be done with things by the you know our next meeting that not the next one, but the last one in June. It's just as you know, it depends on how things are as we go through it. So if things are able to be verified very easily, then it'll be we will be on that point. We'll at least be able to provide an update with what we've seen at that point and some numbers and stuff like that, no matter what. So, I mean, clearly this analysis is gonna go beyond June 30th if necessary. Yes, it will it'll we'll take the time that it needs, you know what I mean, to get it right, yes. I think that's extremely important. Now, when you say the data, Brian, can you be more specific on the data that you've received? Does this for example does this go back to 1997 data? Or is this all the data that involves capacity fees for all the major companies, et cetera? We have just recently gotten this, so I can't exactly tell you what is all in this. No matter what, we're going to have to go back with them and actually observe certain pools of some of this information because we can't just rely on that piece. We are also gonna have to do samples, but there may be different ways to go about validating data because of the capacity fees in place at different points in time and whether or not changed. So I can't say how far back their analysis has already went, but we will go back as far as we can, and I think no matter what, we would be able to pick up the still the amount that would be potentially owed or what what was not collected based on this and the data we have. I don't see anybody in the queue, so we're we're eagerly awaiting all that information. Uh okay, let's talk about the employee survey. Um, let me begin by saying I think all of you have copies of this in front of you. I've also uh was was provided a copy of the JEA survey that went out uh just recently, and uh reviewed it, and it their survey is I believe one that they do they've told us every other year, last did it in 24, they're doing it in 26. It is it is more of a temperature check, is what I how I would define it, very broad uh survey about JEA in general, goes out to all employees, some well over 2,000 employees that respond to that. It is not specific to really to any individual in their particular survey, and I don't know when that's gonna be completed, but uh that's one of the surveys JEA has referred to when they say they are performing a survey. The second survey that they're doing that I don't know very much about is where they've hired this law firm that is uh trying to set up appointments with various people to talk to them about what they know about the culture within JEA, particularly at the senior leadership team level. Um I don't know who they've met with. I did get a call and I declined to to participate, but um they are uh meeting with people, don't know when that'll be completed. Um Ms. Pittman. I just wanted to um ask you mentioned about a survey that has I guess more temperature check generality. Um we've never been in this space before, so the questions that they've asked, I guess in the past may not be particularly um to the culture of the workforce, or can you share any other questions in terms of just comparing? Um I'll be happy to provide you a copy of this survey. Okay, I would appreciate that.
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