JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s interim CEO raised the possibility of bringing tolls back to the city as the agency looks for revenue amid layoffs and a budget shortfall.
Cleveland Ferguson told the City Council’s Financial Audit and Oversight Select Committee that JTA has the authority to collect tolls and could explore working with a private partner.
Jacksonville voters approved a half-cent sales tax in 1989 to remove tolls from bridges, Ferguson said. He offered tolling as one possible revenue source, not as a finalized plan.
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“Tolls would be a tough fight to rebuild,” City Council President Nick Howland said. He said JTA must first stabilize its finances and right-size and optimize the agency.
The toll discussion came as council members began examining how JTA developed a nearly $39 million budget shortfall. The agency has laid off about 200 employees, and riders have faced reduced routes and longer waits.
Council members also approved an agreement allowing JTA to use $30 million in gas tax revenue to address its debt.
“The other part, and I think we’re all concerned, is the sharp reduction in revenue when it was recognized, why it wasn’t brought forward,” Councilman Ron Salem said. He said the committee may need to ask people to come forward and answer questions, adding that he hoped participation would be voluntary.
The committee plans to review JTA’s finances, leadership decisions and how whistleblower concerns were handled. It also could influence which transportation projects receive local gas tax dollars. A separate, more in-depth financial investigation is still being arranged.
Howland said the committee would examine governance, including the departure of former JTA CEO Nat Ford about two and a half months before the financial crisis was revealed.
JTA officials told the committee they are reviewing quarterly summaries dating to 2023, when they believe the agency was on solid financial footing. They said they hope to provide the committee with the records at a future meeting.
The meeting was the first of five planned by the committee. Members said they would share relevant information with the state attorney general’s office, which has issued subpoenas as part of its own investigation.
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