Jacksonville City Council Special Committee on JEA Meeting - June 22, 2026
Jacksonville City Council Special Committee on JEA Meeting - June 22, 2026
The special committee on JEA convened on June 22, 2026, to address several critical issues including capacity fee updates, employee survey results, and testimony from JEA CEO Vicki Kavey and former JEA attorney Regina Ross. The meeting focused on allegations of a toxic work environment, hiring practices, and the handling of capacity fee disputes with Mayo Clinic. Key discussions centered on the CEO's leadership, transparency in JEA operations, and ongoing investigations.
Discussion Items
- Capacity Fee Update: Council Auditor Brian Parks reported on the status of the capacity fee issue. JEA had identified a potential cumulative undercollection of up to $25 million for meters three inches and larger since 2003. The auditor's office is validating JEA's calculations and expects to complete testing for three-inch and larger meters by the time city council returns from break, with some testing for smaller meters to follow.
- Employee Survey Update: Legislative Council Jason Teal announced that the employee engagement survey went live on June 22, 2026, with 19 responses within the first few minutes. The survey will run for two weeks, with four reminder emails planned. Results will be presented to the JEA board.
- CEO Vicki Kavey Testimony: Kavey testified under oath about her selection as CEO, hiring practices, and the Mayo Clinic capacity fee issue. She stated she was named interim CEO after Jay Stowe's resignation in April 2024 and became permanent CEO in September 2024 without a public search or board interview. She acknowledged eliminating the COO position and keeping two executives on payroll as consultants, which she believed violated state statute but followed advice of counsel. Kavey denied knowledge of a toxic work environment until February 2026, when Council President Carico publicly mentioned it. She admitted to not investigating allegations beyond asking HR for complaints. Regarding Mayo Clinic, Kavey said she met with Mayo's CEO in September 2025 to resolve a dispute over capacity fees, initially offering to waive past fees, but halted the process after discovering other customers might owe similar fees. She claimed the board delegation of authority allowed her to settle matters up to $50 million, though the board reserved settlements over $1 million for litigation. Kavey faced extensive questioning about her recollection of events, responding "I don't recall" or "I don't remember" numerous times.
- Regina Ross Testimony: Former JEA attorney Regina Ross testified about her role in drafting a demand letter to Mayo Clinic and her knowledge of other capacity fee cases. She was not involved in the separation agreement for former executive Renetta Marshall, as Kavey requested outside counsel handle it. Ross declined to offer legal opinions on the delegation of authority, citing attorney-client privilege.
- Councilmember Comments: Councilmember Rory Diamond questioned Kavey about the cost of PR consultants and the toxic work environment, noting survey results showing low confidence in leadership. Councilmember Jacoby Pittman expressed concern over the lack of diversity in senior leadership and the treatment of African American staff. Councilmember Joe Carlucci criticized the committee's process as an interrogation and argued that the city council itself has a toxic environment, calling for introspection. Council President Kevin Carico indicated the committee may be concluding.
Key Outcomes
- Survey Launched: The employee engagement survey is live and will close on July 6, 2026, with results to be shared with the JEA board.
- Investigations Ongoing: An internal investigation into allegations against CEO Kavey is expected to conclude within two weeks, with a report to the board; a separate investigation into HR director Diane Moser is also underway.
- Capacity Fee Resolution: No final decision on capacity fees was made. The council auditor's office will continue testing, and the JEA board will ultimately address the issue. The offer to Mayo Clinic was rescinded after discovering broader implications.
- Future of the Committee: Council President Carico announced he will issue a memo on Friday morning regarding the future of the special investigative committee, suggesting unresolved issues may be handled through other channels.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to the special committee on JEA. Let me begin by introductions to my far left. Colleen Hamsey, Council Research. Mary Stefopoulos, Office of General Counsel. Brian Parks, Council Auditor's Office. Philip Peterson, Council Otter. Jason Teal, Legislative Council. Good afternoon, Rory Diamond, District 13, the Beaches. Ron Salem, group two at large. Jacoby Pittman, District 10. Kevin Carico, District 4. At Carlucci at large, group for just visiting. Okay. Before we get into uh, I understand, Miss Kavey, you have an opening statement. I was told just a few minutes ago. Yes, sir. Okay. I understand it's like five or ten minutes. I don't think it's that long, sir. Okay. We'll get to you in just a couple minutes. Uh capacity fee update. Council auditors. Through the chair to the committee. Uh, so kind of the update on where we are. I'll first start with where JA is in their process. So they had focused in on the three-inch and larger and based on their approach. They've calculated a high amount that should be no more than 25 million cumulative since about 2003. That was mentioned by Jody Brooks in her last meeting as well. Um we have validated certain aspects of that calculation and have reason to believe that based on the approach that some calculations may be understated slightly in certain situations from a maximum exposure. And then there's also in others, as they've mentioned in their thing that they are actually overstated in that because they'll be multifamily related, where if there's not a change in the number of units, they wouldn't actually owe anything, so there's aspects of that that we're working through. And we were right now upstairs reviewing that. Um we are working to finalize our approach for testing and hope to be at least through the three inch and larger meters by the time the city council returns from break. No matter what, we will have to take a break for the budget review. We are also hoping to form at least some testing related to the smaller than three inch meters to determine whether we need to test further or whether or not there's a valid reason to exclude from testing, i.e., there's not a material amount that could be owed. Could you explain your $25 million comment that you said a couple minutes ago? Yes. So as Jody also mentioned in her testimony the other day, they have calculated an initial amount of accumulative, that would be $25 million that was not collected on a high end. Again, that's what they've stated as. And so we are reviewing their analysis and stuff like that and testing different pieces of that as we are going through right now. And that includes that would include Mayo Clinic in that $25 million. Yes, because it any meter larger than three inches, three inches and larger. Okay included. Sure, would love to get this done before the budget process, but I'm sure y'all are doing everything you can to do that. Mr. Peterson is, I'm sure. Okay. Update on the employee survey, Mr. Teal.
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