Let’s Get Back to the Basics at JTA

[jaxlongtimer]

MetroLink LRT still operates in St. Louis. Also, you can re-hire workers or contract out. Neither the Skyway or NAVI are officially dead.

You can rehire workers if you can find ones that know what they are doing and are willing to take the job.  Not so easily guaranteed under present circumstances.  Look at all the layoffs done during COVID and the shortage of qualified workers since in many companies and industries that wish they could get them to come back.  People move on when laid off and in today's labor market there is a serious shortage of trades people (e.g. qualified mechanics, etc.).

Here is what I was referring to re: St. Louis MetroLink. Apologies if I thought it related to the incumbent system.  It does appear that, going forward, they are switching gears to BRT from light rail.

Previous light rail plan scrapped
The original plan was pitched as a light rail system, was scrapped by Mayor Spencer and others because of costs.

"This was much more of an attractive project relative to competing for those federal dollars," Scott said.

Pivoting to the bus rapid transit system, which is already in cities like Minneapolis and Indianapolis, may cost less than putting in a light rail system, but funding remains a question.

East West Gateway, St. Louis' regional planning organization, could soon approve the plan, a crucial step toward federal funding. But questions remain if a half-cent sales tax approved by city voters in 2017 to fund Metrolink expansion can be used for bus rapid transit.


"Could that be used if we pivot this project from light rail to BRT, that is an ongoing discussion that we're still working through with the city and how that would have to be vetted either with the board of alderman or the overall voters and what that process would look like," Scott said.

https://www.firstalert4.com/2026/06/18/st-louis-bus-rapid-transit-plan-moves-forward-with-funding-questions/

[thelakelander]

MetroLink LRT still operates in St. Louis. Also, you can re-hire workers or contract out. Neither the Skyway or NAVI are officially dead.

You can rehire workers if you can find ones that know what they are doing and are willing to take the job.  Not so easily guaranteed under present circumstances.  Look at all the layoffs done during COVID and the shortage of qualified workers since in many companies and industries that wish they could get them to come back.  People move on when laid off and in today's labor market there is a serious shortage of trades people (e.g. qualified mechanics, etc.).

JTA doesn't need to operate or manage. Heck, given their track record, it may make more sense to have a contract with an operator. The same sentiment would apply to other forms of transit, like streetcar, LRT, and commuter rail.

This is the type of stuff you figure through realistic alternatives analysis and study.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Not to belabor the point, but I will  .

Whether JTA hires or it's outsourced, my point is it's about the supply of the talent, not who they work for.  If the talent isn't there, no one can supply the labor.  I guess it's possible to retrieve the talent if JTA, being more desperate having eliminated the incumbents, pays a lot more money than they were spending. But that would just make the Skyway even more financially questionable.  We shall see in due course how it plays out.

[thelakelander]

I guess I'm saying the talent exists, if a decision is made to eventually pursue a technology like an APM, streetcar, LRT, etc. The world is much bigger than Jax and JTA.

[jaxlongtimer]

Storm clouds forming over JTA.  Not a fan of our State Attorney General but I get his vibe on this one.  I wonder if it would be better to be investigated by the State or U.S. Attorneys instead.  No matter what, an investigation by someone is called for.

Florida attorney general launches probe of JTA amid financial crisis
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2026/09/29/florida-attorney-general-issues-subpoena-to-jta/92000618007/

[thelakelander]

Just more reason to put the pause on any more bright ideas coming out of JTA. Lets right the ship and get rid of the dead weight before moving forward.

[Charles Hunter]

An op-ed from Jax Today, by Ashton Hudson, a former member of the JEA Board
https://jaxtoday.org/2026/09/28/opinion-jta-board-owes-jacksonville-explanation/?omhide=true

... The people overseeing JTA owe Jacksonville more than concern. They owe us an explanation.

A board earns its keep by challenging management before cash runs short. It tests assumptions, demands reliable numbers and intervenes when performance deteriorates. Jacksonville is entitled to ask whether JTA's directors understood the difference between supporting a CEO and supervising one.
...
 Among the causes cited: improper budgeting for employee costs.

Improper budgeting for employee costs. At a transportation agency.

Payroll is among the most basic expenses a board should understand. An agency unable to budget reliably for its employees has no business asking taxpayers to trust its projections for transportation's future. City Council member Mike Gay called this "red flags of a failing business." Why did council have to say what the board should have been confronting?
...
The mayor's office offered an extraordinary explanation: The board "was not previously aware of the dire nature of the agency's financial situation."

That is an admission of failure. Directors cannot claim authority to approve budgets while disclaiming responsibility for knowing whether the bills can be paid. ...

If management withheld information from the board, identify what, by whom and for how long. If reassuring reports proved unreliable, release them. If warnings appeared in board materials, explain why they failed to produce effective action. Show Jacksonville the record.
...
JTA now wants flexibility to spend gas-tax money reserved for capital projects on severance and debt — money meant to build Jacksonville's future, paying for the retreat from promises already made.

Before granting any new flexibility, council should require Wallace and the directors responsible for the financial failures at JTA to appear publicly with forecasts, reports and meeting records. When did they see the shortfall developing? When did they learn of unpaid bills? What corrective action did they demand? What justified continued autonomous spending after ridership results arrived? Answers should come with dates and documents.
...
The next CEO will inherit this crisis. Before choosing that person, the board must explain how its oversight will change and why the public should trust it. Employees facing dismissal are bearing the cost of failure. Directors responsible for oversight should explain why keeping their own seats serves the public interest.

[fsu813]

Storm clouds forming over JTA.  Not a fan of our State Attorney General but I get his vibe on this one.  I wonder if it would be better to be investigated by the State or U.S. Attorneys instead.  No matter what, an investigation by someone is called for.

Florida attorney general launches probe of JTA amid financial crisis
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2026/09/29/florida-attorney-general-issues-subpoena-to-jta/92000618007/

Being bad at business and decision making isn't illegal.

This is a 100% political fishing expedition to see if any negative headlines can be generated for the anti-Donna campaign.

[Charles Hunter]

Being bad at business and decision making isn't illegal.

This is a 100% political fishing expedition to see if any negative headlines can be generated for the anti-Donna campaign.

I don't disagree with either of your points, especially the political angle. However, if the staff was directed by top management to conceal the bad news from the Board, would that be a crime? Either misuse of tax funds, or concealing their misuse?

[jaxjags]

They article states they are looking at how educational funds were distributed and the relationship between a company given a contract and his wife. These could be illegal in a city/government institution.

[Ken_FSU]

They article states they are looking at how educational funds were distributed and the relationship between a company given a contract and his wife. These could be illegal in a city/government institution.

I have a feeling it would be horrifying for JTA if the DA were to start untangling some of the consulting contracts related to NAVI.

[jaxoNOLE]

Knowingly misrepresenting expected ridership, timelines, and other material assumptions in the pursuit of grant monies would also be an area grey enough that an inquest is legitimate, even if it ultimately doesn't produce convictions. If a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich, this one oughta look fairly juicy.

I honestly doubt any charges come out of this, but the traditional oversight mechanisms for JTA have been derelict for a decade, so I'm all for an exposé -- regardless of motivation.

[CityLife]

JBJ Article

Ferguson, who signed the note, wrote that the subpoena is requesting documents from Oct. 1, 2023, to Oct. 21, 2025, along with JTA's tuition reimbursement policy, certain contracts through 2026 with one of the transit agency's organizational development firms and specified communications involving former CEO Nat Ford, his spouse and the owner of that firm.

These are fairly specific requests, not a fishing expedition. Looks like the AG already knows what he is looking for.

"Nobody wanted to challenge Nat Ford," Diamond said. "They didn't want to ask him tough questions. They didn't want to hold him accountable, and Jacksonville does this over and over again. We just (have a) go-along-to-get-along culture in this town and it hurts us, and this time it really hurt us. So we need to get comfortable with holding people accountable."

Nailed it.

[fsu813]

I didn't read the full article.

That first highlighted segment is related to the former board member's concern over educational reimbursements/grants for employees. Think I mentioned that was one of the relatively minor expenditures that the former board member cited as possibly not on the level. It was brought up in a (public) board meeting at the time.

[CityLife]

I didn't read the full article.

That first highlighted segment is related to the former board member's concern over educational reimbursements/grants for employees. Think I mentioned that was one of the relatively minor expenditures that the former board member cited as possibly not on the level. It was brought up in a (public) board meeting at the time.

Yes, one of the requests is related to the tuition reimbursement thing linked to the current interim CEO (and possibly others). The other part referenced above is seeking more information on contracts, as well as communication between Ford and his wife and one specific contractor.

This Action New Jax has more information on what was requested. Action New Jax Story

The statewide prosecutor is seeking copies of contracts between JTA and Dream Builders Consulting, Jones-Worley Designs, Jacobs Project Management Company and Mason Nye Murals.

According to Jones-Worley Designs' website, the company designed JTA's NAVI logo and shuttle wrap design.

Action News Jax previously reported on an Inspector General's report that looked into JTA's contract with Mason Nye Murals to paint the agency's Myrtle Avenue Operation Campus in 2024.

That report found the contract included "exorbitant" travel and lodging expenses and suggested the company may have gotten insider information to help it land the job.

The statewide prosecutor is also requesting all communications between outgoing CEO Nat Ford, his wife, and the CEO of Dream Builders Consulting, a company that provides executive coaching.

Additionally, the subpoena requests contracts related to wellness services, including massages, tuition reimbursement policies and spending, along with ridership numbers for JTA services including the NAVI.