Should we sell JEA?

[thelakelander]

Over the weekend, Ron Littlepage suggested it may be a good idea for the city to sell JEA.  What's your opinion on this?

Public schools could benefit if JEA were sold

By RON LITTLEPAGE
The Times-Union

There was an interesting development last week concerning JEA.

The Times-Union reported that City Council President Daniel Davis has asked council auditors to determine the market value of the city-owned electric, water and sewer utility.

According to the news story, which was published on Friday, Davis was quick to point out he wasn't proposing selling JEA.

The city should know the value of its biggest asset, he told the Times-Union.

Agreed.

But the idea of selling JEA shouldn't be automatically dismissed.

The idea of JEA becoming a private utility like FPL has surfaced before but was hooted down, in large part because of fears private ownership would lead to higher utility bills.

I'm certainly not advocating that a sale is the best course, but there are factors that need to be looked at.

Because the utility is publicly owned, it pays no property taxes.

With JEA, according to the Times-Union story, estimating its total assets at about $7.5 billion, that could translate into a big chunk of property tax revenue for the city if JEA property were on the tax rolls.

While JEA doesn't pay property taxes, it does make a contribution to the city's general fund. For the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, that contribution will be $91 million.

One question that needs to be examined is whether that contribution is more or less than what JEA would be paying in property taxes - on both tangible and intangible property - if it were under private ownership.

Another consideration involves the public schools.

If the utility were privately owned, the School Board would get a bonanza in additional property tax revenues- money that could be used to meet basic needs. Perhaps teachers wouldn't have to spend so much of their own money buying supplies for their classrooms.

As it is now, the School Board doesn't get the benefit of a similar hefty contribution that JEA makes to the city. It gets squat.

(As an aside, if Mayor John Peyton's proposed 3 percent franchise fee is tacked onto electric bills, that could cost the School Board a bunch of money. That would be double taxation. Think about it. Your taxpayer money going to the School Board would then be used to pay taxes to the city.)

If JEA were sold, I'm sure it would fetch a lot of money - money that could be used to meet the massive infrastructure needs of Jacksonville.

As I said, I'm not saying that would be the best course, but it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.

Determining the market value of JEA, as Davis has ordered, is a good place to start.

ron.littlepage@jacksonville.com,

(904) 359-4284

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072907/opl_187399147.shtml

[Jason]

Complie another task force!