Mayor Deegan: Bringing back tolls is not the answer to fixing JTA’s $39M budget shortfall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After JTA leaders raised the possibility of bringing back tolls as the agency looks for revenue amid layoffs and a budget shortfall, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan was quick to respond.

That is simply not the answer, she said in a statement released Saturday.

JTA interim CEO 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.

But Deegan made her position clear: She will counter any efforts by JTA to bring tolls back to the city.

“During the City Council’s first Financial Audit and Oversight Committee Meeting with JTA, the possibility of tolls was discussed. Jacksonville has been down this road before, and the people have already spoken loud and clear. I will oppose any effort by JTA, a regional state agency, to bring back tolls that would make it even more expensive to drive in our city. There are many other solutions that should be considered to alleviate the current financial crisis. Tolls are not one of them.

I expect the Governor’s four appointees and my three appointees to hold JTA’s leadership accountable, get the fiscal house in order and meet the transportation needs of North Florida.”

Mayor Donna Deegan

In 1989, Jacksonville voters approved a half-cent sales tax so that tolls could be removed from bridges, and City Council President Nick Howland’s position seems to align with Deegan’s: tolls would be a hard sell.

“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.

MORE | Florida AG subpoenas Mayor Deegan over meeting with former JTA board member who warned of financial crisis

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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