{"id":409880,"date":"2026-09-25T02:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T02:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/409880\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T02:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T02:04:09","slug":"jacksonvilles-oversight-committee-expected-to-open-inquiry-into-jta-as-the-agency-faces-a-nearly-40m-shortfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/409880\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville\u2019s oversight committee expected to open inquiry into JTA, as the agency faces a nearly $40M shortfall"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s Financial Oversight and Audit Select committee is expected to launch an inquiry focusing on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority as the agency faces a projected shortfall of nearly $40 million<\/a>. Council president Nick Howland said the select committee has closed it\u2019s probe into unpaid capacity fees at JEA. <\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s inquiry into JTA is being discussed as the City Council approved a resolution allowing JTA to use up to $30 million in local gas-tax revenue to pay down a $20 million line of credit.<\/p>\n

Council President Nick Howland said the immediate priority is stabilizing JTA and ensuring residents have reliable transportation.<\/p>\n

The resolution allowing JTA to use gas-tax revenue was drafted after the agency announced plans to lay off nearly 200 employees. JTA Interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson told committee members the agency is working to reduce its size and stabilize operations during the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are working to stabilize after having to make some extremely tough decisions,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n

RELATED | Former JTA board member says she warned officials about agency\u2019s financial situation<\/a> | \u2018Hurt and blindsided\u2019: Laid-off JTA employee says employees were given severance packets, escorted out of headquarters<\/a><\/p>\n

Council members questioned whether projected gas-tax revenue could fluctuate with changes in fuel prices. They also asked whether JTA should focus more on its core transit mission instead of roadway projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas there been any consideration of JTA focusing in on their core transit issues versus roadway projects?\u201d one council member asked. \u201cIs that a way of re-engineering JTA?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is one of the fundamental considerations before us,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n

Ferguson said the next phase of the agency\u2019s plan will include a communitywide conversation about Jacksonville\u2019s overall mobility plan, with a focus on providing reliable transportation for residents who depend on public transit the most.<\/p>\n

MORE | Skyway Social event canceled amid JTA\u2019s $39 million budget shortfall<\/a><\/p>\n

Council members also asked whether laid-off employees could be rehired in the future. JTA leaders said the agency has up to two years to bring employees back under its collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s broader unanswered question is how JTA reached its current financial position. Council member Chris Miller said the crisis may have been developing for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis just didn\u2019t happen overnight,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThere were a lot of leaders who had information on where this was headed, and I just hope we\u2019re serious about how we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Ron Salem said the changes will have a significant effect on residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge issue when you\u2019re altering bus routes and furloughing dozens of employees,\u201d Salem said. \u201cThat\u2019s serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

JTA leaders said several bus routes will be adjusted beginning Nov. 2. The agency said the workforce reduction is expected to save $21.9 million.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s Financial Oversight and Audit Select committee is expected to launch an inquiry focusing on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1039,116,118,117,799],"class_list":["post-409880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-duval-county","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-jta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}