JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has subpoenaed Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, demanding records from a 2025 meeting with a former Jacksonville Transportation Authority board member who says she raised alarms about the agency’s finances long before its collapse.
The subpoena requires Deegan to produce all records, emails, text messages, and other communications related to a March 3, 2025, meeting that included Deegan and former JTA board member Megan Hayward. Prosecutors cited Deegan’s own public statement — “I went back and looked at the notes of my meeting with her” — as a basis for the records request.
The deadline for compliance is Oct. 20, 2026.
What prosecutors are asking for
The Subpoena covers a narrow 10-day window: March 1–10, 2025. It seeks all records “in the possession, custody, or control of the City and its employees,” including materials stored on personal devices used for city business.
The subpoena specifically references handwritten notes, emails, text messages, meeting recordings, and application-based communications.
Mayor’s office responds
Deegan’s office confirmed the subpoena and said her office would cooperate with prosecutors — while pushing back on several details cited in the records demand.
“JTA is a regional state transportation agency with state employees, a majority of board members who are appointed by the Governor, and a budget that is reviewed and approved by the Jacksonville City Council,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The statement also addressed Hayward’s concerns, saying the city took them seriously: “The City Council even held up Board Member Brown’s nomination until the concerns were addressed. Ultimately, the City Council indicated they were satisfied by these answers and unanimously confirmed Mrs. Brown.”
On the question of the notes referenced in the subpoena, the mayor’s office disputed an apparent discrepancy in who attended the meeting.
“To clear up any confusion on the former board member’s part, the owner of the notes and staff member who joined is Chief Communications Officer Phil Perry. Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Inderhees did not attend the meeting and has never met Mrs. Hayward.”
The mayor’s office said the notes — described as personal and never shared with another person — would still be turned over.
“In the spirit of transparency, these notes will be provided after they are reviewed by the Office of General Counsel and delivered to the Office of Statewide Prosecution.”
Who is Megan Hayward, and what did she warn?
Hayward served on the JTA board for roughly a year and a half before being removed. She has said she repeatedly raised concerns about spending on NAVI, JTA’s autonomous vehicle program, whose cost grew by more than $20 million beyond its original projection of about $250 million, according to Hayward.
“I looked at Donna before I left, and I said, if you guys do not take this seriously, this is going to be your JEA scandal,” Hayward told News4JAX in September. “And here we are.”
Hayward has also called for a criminal investigation into the agency’s use of federal funds. “When you’re talking about federal money, it’s a big deal what happens,” she said.
JTA’s financial crisis explained
JTA is now in the middle of a full-blown financial emergency. The agency faces a nearly $40 million budget shortfall that has already triggered close to 200 layoffs and forced cuts to transit service across the region.
The state attorney general’s office previously subpoenaed JTA itself — seeking records on tuition reimbursement, contracts with an organizational development firm, and ridership numbers for NAVI. Prosecutors are also examining communications involving former CEO Nat Ford.
Councilman Rory Diamond, JTA’s city council liaison, flagged a major concern about NAVI ridership data: federal and state transit funding is often tied to the number of riders served.
“If we lied about how many people that are riding, then we got more money than we deserve. And that’s fraud,” Diamond said. “That’s criminal. That’s a problem if it happened.”
Clay County has since voted to end its funding agreement with JTA, expanding the fallout beyond Duval County.
City council moves to stabilize JTA
City Council President Nick Howland reconvened the Financial Audit and Oversight Committee to investigate JTA’s finances. Councilman Ron Salem, one of three members on the committee, is pushing for an outside audit on top of the committee’s work.
“I think it needs to be somebody from the outside who’s never had anything to do with JTA to determine what exactly happened, educate us, and we’ve got to make sure it never happens again,” Salem said.
Council leaders are also weighing a proposal to redirect $30 million in existing local gas tax funds to help JTA cover a line of credit and avoid further service disruptions — without raising taxes. The full City Council is expected to vote on the measure Oct. 13.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.