City Council panel seeks testimony from ex-JEA lawyer

A special Jacksonville City Council committee has met only once to investigate complaints about workplace culture and underpaid water fees at JEA. But committee members and the city’s Office of General Counsel are already at loggerheads.

The council’s Special Investigatory Committee on JEA wants to hear testimony from Regina Ross, former chief legal counsel for the city-owned utility, now an attorney for the city.

City General Counsel Michael Fackler told the committee that the office’s attorney-client privilege prevents Ross’ testimony and she will be unavailable to the committee.

Committee Chair Ron Salem was not satisfied. He said the city needs to make Ross available “or we’re going to have to take some other steps.”

“Potentially a subpoena or something else, which I’d rather avoid. I’d rather do this in a friendly manner,” Salem told news reporters after the committee’s initial meeting Wednesday.

Salem said Ross could be the key witness in their investigation, prompted by memos that some of the largest commercial customers — most notably The Mayo Clinic — could have been exempted from millions of dollars in water and wastewater fees over decades.

Committee members also want to know whether she witnessed an alleged toxic work culture and racial discrimination first raised by Council President Kevin Carrico — who is also under investigation related to a withdrawn JEA board appointment he made to repay “a big favor.”

Salem says the committee will engage an outside firm to conduct an anonymous workplace survey of 147 management-level employees who work the utility’s Downtown headquarters to gauge morale.

On Wednesday, in response to the allegations of poor workplace culture and racism, JEA reversed course and announced in a news release that it will conduct its own independent, third-party review and a “comprehensive employee engagement survey.”

It’s a claim that JEA’s board of directors previously declined to investigate and that CEO Vickie Cavey denies.

The JEA survey is expected to start in early April. Salem says the committee’s employee poll will be ready in 30 to 60 days.

What the former JEA attorney could say

The committee authorized a letter addressed to Cavey and the Office of General Counsel to compel them to waive the privilege and allow Ross to answer the committee’s questions.

Ross penned memos, including one in December 2024, that raised a red flag about favorable water and wastewater capacity fees at Mayo Clinic to the tune of $18.9 million under what it used since 1995 linked to growth at its Jacksonville campus.

Salem said Tuesday that, in total, some of JEA’s commercial customers could have underpaid collectively $100 million. Not all the companies have been identified, but committee member Rory Diamond mentioned during the meeting that Florida State College at Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens could be among them.

When asked by reporters, Salem declined to confirm those two organizations were involved. But he said Ross could help council auditors understand how JEA creates and calculates its water capacity fees.

Mayo’s attorney was in council chambers during the meeting Tuesday, and Salem said the company is monitoring the proceedings.

“There are legal requirements that we have to collect those fees. This is not some construction company where you can just say ‘I’m going to write that off.’ We can’t do that. That’s a public utility,” Salem said. “Mayo is kind of special that there are some reasons and documents from the past that suggest maybe they don’t owe these capacity fees. But we first have to calculate what they owe.”

Jason Teal — council secretary, its legal counsel, and a former city general counsel — explained that the city charter give the council broad authority to investigate city independent agencies including subpoena powers.

He also cited the charter during the meeting, saying it includes a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment of not more than 60 days or both for refusing to testify under a subpoena.

“Not that I’m suggesting that should be applied here, but what I’m saying is that lends severity and importance to the intent of the charter that allows the council latitude to conduct these types of investigations,” Teal said.

Committee member Ju’Coby Pittman said she wants guarantees that any employee who speaks to the committee, including Ross, will be protected from retaliation.

The questions brought a sharp response from the city’s chief deputy general counsel, Dylan Reingold. He assured the committee that city attorneys would work closely with the council auditor’s office to aid their investigations on the capacity fees. He told Pittman that Ross would be protected, and he hit back at Teal.

“Certainly, I cannot see a way that Ms. Ross will be retaliated against or have any actions against (her). The only thing that I’ve heard today is Mr. Teal was intimating that the City Council may want to arrest her. And I’m certainly hoping that the City Council doesn’t do that,” Reingold said.

Salem called Reingold’s response “inappropriate.”

“This establishes that office, and I hope all of you heard that,” Salem said.

JEA workplace surveys

JEA’s move Wednesday to move forward with its own employee surveys came weeks after calls from council members and others for the utility to look into the claims. In its release, JEA says the results of the reviews will be reported straight to its board of directors.

“No JEA employee, including members of management, will participate in or influence the investigation process beyond administrative coordination such as scheduling and providing requested documentation,” the release says.

Some city leaders — most notably Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and City Council member Matt Carlucci — have called the committee’s investigation politically motivated. Deegan publically stood by Cavey in February shortly after Carrico made the claims public.

Pittman requested a list of “African Americans and brown people” who have been employed in JEA management. The committee will ask JEA for two years of data showing hiring, terminations, promotions, demotions and salary trends among this demographic.

The committee will meet again Monday, and Salem says members expect to hear public comments from former JEA Chief of Staff Kurt Wilson, the only employee so far to come forward with any workplace allegations after Cavey eliminated his position.

He spoke during a JEA board meeting Feb. 24, when the board voted 6-1 to back Cavey’s performance while Vice Chair Rick Morales III revealed he’d fielded concerns from some in the CEO’s senior leadership team about her leadership style and admitted he’d asked for her resignation.

Salem says he has no plans to bring Cavey before the committee but would welcome her if she volunteered.

Carrico’s subpoena

All this is happening as Carrico tells Jacksonville Today he has completed his response to a subpoena by the 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, which appears to be looking into the council president’s attempt to appoint his boss, Boys & Girls Club Boys & Girls Club CEO Paul Martinez.

Text messages from Carrico to JEA board member Arthur Adams suggest he planned to appoint Martinez as a favor to someone. Martinez has since withdrawn his name from consideration and Carrico has nominated former Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters President Randy Wyse to succeed Adams

“My office continues to work hand in hand with the SAO in filing this public records request. All documents have been submitted, and we are waiting to determine next steps,” Carrico said Wednesday in a text message.

Carrico launched the council’s investigation into the workplace allegations weeks after his texts became public.

No look at Ballard

Salem drew a hard line Tuesday that the committee will not be investigating JEA’s canceled lobbying contracts with Ballard Partners’ Jacksonville office.

The firm is led locally by Jordan Elsbury, who served as chief of staff under former Mayor Lenny Curry. Curry is a partner in the office.

Deegan alleged in February that the campaign against Cavey was directly linked to a pressure campaign for JEA to maintain its contract with Ballard-Jacksonville — a statement that Elsbury and Curry both deny.

“We are not dealing with Ballard Partners,” Salem said. “That is not one of our charges, and we will not have any testimony on Ballard Partners.”