JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said Wednesday that her office is happy to cooperate with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s subpoena for records from a 2025 meeting with a former JTA board member who said she warned about the agency’s pending financial crisis.
RELATED: Former JTA board member says she warned officials about agency’s financial situation
The subpoena seeks records, including notes, emails and messages, related to a March 3, 2025, meeting with former JTA board member Megan Hayward. Deegan said Wednesday she would provide the records to prosecutors and make them public through the proper process.
“We’re always happy to cooperate,” Deegan said during an interview on WJCT’s First Coast Connect. She said she did not want to set a precedent by making public records that are not required to be disclosed.
The JTA shortfall has led to nearly 200 layoffs and planned cuts to transit service. The agency has said it will reduce its fiscal 2027 budget by $39 million, suspend Skyway passenger service and pause its NAVI autonomous shuttle service.
Hayward, who served on the JTA board for about 18 months, has said she repeatedly raised concerns about the agency’s finances and spending on NAVI. She told News4JAX she warned Deegan and other city officials before leaving the board.
“I looked at Donna and Joe before I left, and I said, ‘If you guys do not take this seriously, this is going to be your JEA scandal,’ and here we are,” Hayward said.
Deegan disputed Hayward’s characterization and said a comparison with JEA was “a non-starter.” She said she has nothing to gain from JTA’s financial problems and pointed to the JEA case, in which former CEO Aaron Zahn was sentenced to prison after a scheme involving an attempted sale of the public utility.
Deegan also said she invited Hayward to the mayor’s office to hear her concerns. The mayor’s office has said Chief Communications Officer Phil Perry attended the meeting, while Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Inderhees did not.
The scrutiny comes as city leaders consider financial support for JTA. A City Council committee advanced a plan to direct $30 million in existing local gas-tax funds to help stabilize the agency. The full council is expected to vote on the proposal Oct. 13. The funds would not require a tax increase and would have to be repaid by Sept. 30, 2037.
Deegan also signed an executive order encouraging financial, audit, ethics and public-records training for people appointed to city boards and independent agencies. The order calls for leaders of independent agencies to certify financial information provided to the city.
JTA’s finances are expected to be discussed at the Financial Audit and Oversight Committee meeting Friday at 9:30 a.m.
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