Civic Council raps ‘political intervention’ by City Council on JEA

The Jacksonville Civic Council is calling for an end to the special investigatory committee created by City Council President Kevin Carrico for examining JEA, saying it is the kind of “ad hoc political intervention” that undermines confidence in city governance.

Carrico said in response the committee will keep meeting.

He said shutting down the committee now would “leave taxpayers in the dark at the very moment transparency is most needed.”

“Sunshine is the best disinfectant and the process is working,” he said.

The special committee has been questioning witnesses under oath, which is unusual for council committees, and also plans to conduct a survey of JEA employees.

The Civic Council’s letter delivered May 4 to Carrico and other council members comes as City Council takes up legislation this week that would authorize spending about $9,000 for the survey of JEA management-level employees and a few former employees.

The Civic Council, a nonprofit organization of business and civic leaders, said in the letter the City Charter created independent boards for overseeing agencies like JEA “with good reason.” City Council should allow JEA to do its own investigations without interference by a council committee examining the same matters, the Civic Council says.

“JEA’s board members are highly-qualified and we have great confidence in their integrity,” the Civic Council’s letter says.

The letter sent by Civic Council Chairman Gary Chartrand and multiple board members says Jacksonville “has worked hard to build a reputation for serious, professional governance” where “governance is stable and predictable, not subject to ad hoc political interventions.”

“Credibility, once lost, is expensive and slow to rebuild,” the letter says. “This is not a partisan matter. It is a question of respecting governance structures, preserving institutional integrity, and maintaining public confidence in the city of Jacksonville.”

City of Jacksonville Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, left, and Councilman Ronald Salem, right, listened as former JEA chief of staff Kurt Wilson testified during a Special Investigatory Committee on JEA Matters Monday, March 23, 2026 at Jacksonville City Hall in Jacksonville, Fla. Wilson spoke about his experience working at the top level of JEA’s executive leadership and concerns he has heard about a “toxic work culture” under CEO Vickie Cavey. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]

Carrico created the Special Investigatory Committee on JEA Matters to examine complaints of “racism” and a toxic workplace culture under CEO Vickie Cavey. The original charge to the special committee also covers investigating how JEA has handled assessing charges on some commercial customers for water and sewer capacity fees.

Carrico expanded the charge by telling the committee it should look at what impact the JEA board’s approval of a planned new natural gas plant will have on JEA’s electric rates and the utility’s annual contribution to the city of Jacksonville.

Carrico has said JEA suffers from a “crisis of confidence.”

He formed the committee after JEA board member Rick Morales requested an outside review of complaints Morales said he heard from some high-level JEA employees about what it is like to work with Cavey at JEA headquarters. Morales, who sought the outside review after he had asked Cavey to resign in a one-on-one meeting, did not get support from any other board members.

JEA currently is doing two employee surveys. The biggest is a utility-wide survey by Energage of all 2,922 employees that JEA already was planning to do before the February board meeting when Morales sought an outside review.

JEA also hired an outside law firm based in Tampa to conduct a more focused, intensive investigation of complaints raised by former chief of staff Kurt Wilson about the work environment at JEA for employees who work directly at headquarters with Cavey. The review by the law firm is being done though the city’s Office of General Counsel.

The Special Investigatory Committee on JEA Matters wants to do its own survey of 147 employees and a separate survey of a few former employees who left since Cavey became CEO two years ago.

CEO Vickie Cavey, right, looks on during a board meeting at JEA headquarters, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The JEA board met to discuss CEO Vickie Cavey’s leadership of the utility. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

Cavey has said her leadership style is rigorous and respectful. The board supported Cavey at the February board meeting with a 6-1 vote of confidence.

The Jacksonville Civic Council’s letter says after the failed sales attempt of JEA in 2019, voters strengthened the City Charter including a provision that gives the City Council president the ability to appoint four of the seven JEA board members rather than the mayor appointing all seven of them.

The letter says City Council also has authority to confirm all JEA board appointments and approve the JEA budget while the city’s Office of Inspector General can conduct investigation of financial issues.

The Civic Council says City Council should allow all the investigations underway to be completed: the JEA reviews of the utility’s workplace culture and operations, the Office of Inspector General examination of the capacity fees and an ongoing investigation by State Attorney Melissa Nelson.

Nelson’s investigation started after Carrico sent a text message that said he was appointing Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida CEO Paul Martinez to the JEA board as “a big favor to a friend.” Martinez later withdrew from consideration. Carrico, who works with Martinez as a top executive at the Boys & Girls Clubs, has said he was using informal language “reflecting goodwill toward a qualified individual” and there was no exchange of favors.

Board appointments: Council postpones votes on JEA board during ‘cloud’ of investigations

The Florida State Attorney General Office of Statewide Prosecution also has opened an investigation that is focused on any opposition to JEA’s award of a lobbying contract to Ballard Partners. A subpoena by the Office of Statewide Prosecution seeks communications by Mayor Donna Deegan, Chief Administrative Officer Mike Weinstein, JEA top staff and several of its board members.

The Civic Council’s letter say when all the the review are complete, “the City Council will have the standing and the responsibility to look at the findings and decided if changes are needed.”

(This story was updated with additional information.)

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Civic Council calls for end of City Council’s JEA probe