JEA to increase payments to city

[TheCat]

JEA and city officials finalized a financial aid package to provide more than $114 million to City Hall each year and millions of dollars more in other commitments from Jacksonville's electric and water utility.
A special City Council committee Tuesday unanimously approved the agreement, capping tedious and wide-ranging negotiations that began last year with the city-owned utility over the high-stakes issue. At one time, JEA officials hoped a new agreement would reduce the amount of money the utility pays each year to City Hall.

But the proposal approved Tuesday ensures the city will receive substantially more money in addition to other JEA commitments to help pay for community projects like septic tank removal. The utility is also helping — at no cost — check a regulatory box that will shield City Hall from state fines for failing to meet a years-old promise to reduce nitrogen in the St. Johns River.

"This agreement speaks to how important the relationship is between the city and JEA," said Council President Greg Anderson, who was a member of the special negotiating committee.

The agreement — an existing one is set to expire this year — would commit JEA to paying $114 million to the city next fiscal year. That amount would increase 1 percent each year over the course of the five-year agreement, topping out at more than $120 million in 2021.

JEA officials initially hoped to arrest the growth of the annual city contribution, citing industry-wide declines in electric and water sales, but city officials quickly dismissed that possibility. Although the new proposal continues growing the contribution, it's more favorable to JEA than the existing agreement, which has grown the contribution by $2.5 million every year.

Other key terms of the proposed JEA contribution are:...
http://jacksonville.com/news/2016-02-09/story/plan-increase-jeas-payments-city-hall-gets-green-light

[jaxjaguar]

What percentage of this will go to raise the wages of all of the big cats in the city government? Hopefully that full $114mm goes to good use...