Let’s Get Back to the Basics at JTA

[jaxlongtimer]

^ the headline is sensational, but the former board member blames the entire city council and her fellow board members in that interview, as well.

Unfortunately, I don't think that will be enough to cover for Deegan.  Rory Diamond is already pouncing as predicted he would when this was sure to blow.

Former JTA board member says she warned officials about agency's financial situation
Mayor Deegan said her office learned about the financial struggles at the same time the board did.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Reactions continued to pour in after the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced plans to cut roughly 150 positions and reduce services as it works to trim $39 million from its budget.

A former JTA board member and some city leaders say the agency's financial struggles did not happen overnight and that warning signs were ignored.

Megan Hayward, who served on the JTA board for about a year and a half before she was removed, said she repeatedly questioned spending on projects including NAVI, the agency's autonomous vehicle program.

The project is scheduled to be temporarily halted Jan. 1.

"I looked at Donna before I left, and I said, if you guys do not take this seriously, this is going to be your JEA scandal. And here we are," Hayward said, referring to Mayor Donna Deegan.

Hayward said the cost of the NAVI project grew by more than $20 million beyond its original projection of about $250 million.

"It had ballooned already, like over $20 million from the original cost that had been projected," she said.

In her opinion, Hayward said, the spending reflected "complete ego and hubris" by Deegan and JTA's executive team.

"It could have been avoided if the NAVI project had been shut down sooner," Hayward said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Deegan said JTA's board "was not previously aware of the dire nature of the agency's financial situation. We became aware as they did."

City Council member Rory Diamond also criticized the mayor on social media, writing: "Never forget, @MayorDeegan cheered as @JTAFLA was driven into a ditch."

Diamond said he and others had warned for years about problems at JTA.

"We've been screaming from the mountaintops for the last two years that there's huge problems over there, and the mayor removed a board member who's asking those very questions," Diamond said. "So, you can't pretend not to know what's going on and have done all that. It makes no sense. It's dishonest."

JTA riders are now questioning how the cuts could affect their commutes and access to transportation.

"When I heard about it, I was like, on social media scrolling through, I just couldn't believe it because I have to catch the bus every single day," rider Shacara Miller said. "And because of how late I get back and forth to the terminal, it's going to be kind of hard with all the budget cuts."

Hayward said the agency's financial crisis and the use of federal money warrant a criminal investigation.

"There needs to be. When you're talking about federal money, it's a big deal what happens," she said.

She also criticized the impact of the cuts on mechanics, bus drivers and other lower-paid employees.

"The people that cause these problems to happen aren't getting hit as hard," Hayward said. "It's really affecting the mechanics, the bus drivers, the lower-tiered employees."

Hayward said JTA's executive team prioritized its own salaries over the people who depend on the system.

Deegan said the city needs to learn from the past while working to ensure world-class public transportation in the future.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/09/18/former-jta-board-member-says-she-warned-officials-about-agencys-financial-situation-before-jta-staff-and-budget-cuts/

[tufsu1]

Start the PR campaign now! Lol... been calling this for years now. She's cooked if this comes out fully. How do you turn a blind eye to this?

well JTA is an independent authority

[jaxoNOLE]

Start the PR campaign now! Lol... been calling this for years now. She's cooked if this comes out fully. How do you turn a blind eye to this?

well JTA is an independent authority

That the mayor has exercised her board appointment power on to remove a NAVI skeptic. She has also publicly supported NAVI. She might not have the power to kill NAVI single-handedly, but she hasn't exercised good judgment within her area of influence either.

[Jax_Developer]

Start the PR campaign now! Lol... been calling this for years now. She's cooked if this comes out fully. How do you turn a blind eye to this?

well JTA is an independent authority

Lol.

[Steve]

Start the PR campaign now! Lol... been calling this for years now. She's cooked if this comes out fully. How do you turn a blind eye to this?

well JTA is an independent authority

While true....I'm pretty sure Curry tried that same argument with JEA a few years back. How did that go?

She may have been able to make that claim if it weren't for the board member that was pulled. That move might turn out to be a bad one.

[fsu813]

^ Unlike JEA, the Governor also appoints board members to JTA. 1 out of X board members during Ford's tenure reported any concerns about finances. And the type of finance concerns she had were not the same as the issues presenting today, sans Navi. She was generally concerned about relatively small things like uneven employee education reimbursement, and inaccurate reporting of ridership numbers (which is a whole other potential issue).

I totally understand the superficial optics. Sometimes that's good enough to have a long shelf life, sometimes the context catches up to the story after time.

[jaxlongtimer]

^ Regardless of the JTA board, if anyone on the City Council, Mayor's office or JTA board read the Jaxson, they could have seen this train/bus/Skyway/NAVI about to run over them  .  If it was obvious to outsiders, it should have been more than obvious to leadership.  Credit too, to Action News for also pointing out substantial cracks in the JTA foundation.

Blind love, politically, friendship or otherwise, in business is just plain unhealthy.  One has to continuously hold management accountable for expenses being managed/reasonable/justified, revenue being protected/growing, the bottom line being optimized given mission and constraints, and that no one is misusing their position to run the ship aground.  Thoughtful and feasible long term strategy/planning should also be expected.

It's not personal, its good business management 101.  No one should be offended (e.g. I sense the Mayor and the JTA Board didn't want to take on Ford).  If one is offended, that should invite even more scrutiny... after all, what are they afraid of revealing?

[jaxlongtimer]

Based on the below, I would say both NAVI and the Skyway are cooked!  No doubt, tough on the employees, but it's the right and only decision to be made.  Sadly, the Skyway decision should have been made 40 years ago and the NAVI about 5 years ago.  Better late than never. 

The Financial Planning Manager is an obvious casualty unless he/she spoke up and no one would listen.  Unfair in that case but they need a scapegoat, perhaps.

....News4JAX obtained a list of more than 150 employees whose positions are being eliminated as part of JTA's restructuring. Positions eliminated Friday include

- Program Manager

- Chief Innovation Officer

- Director - Automation & Innovation

- Business Relations Administrator

- Financial Planning & Analysis Manager

Employees who worked with JTA's Skyway Line are also on the list. News4JAX witnessed the Skyway operating in downtown Jacksonville on Monday. Workers who oversaw JTA's Navi system are included as well. JTA says Navi will make its last run at the end of this year...

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/09/21/hurt-and-blindsided-laid-off-jta-employee-says-employees-were-given-severance-packets-escorted-out-of-headquarters/

[CityLife]

This idea that the Mayor of Jacksonville and City Council have no involvement or impact on JTA because it is an "independent authority" isn't entirely accurate. JTA is independent, but there are statutory checks and balances in place to provide City oversight.

1. The Mayor's Budget Review Committee annually reviews JTA's proposed budget, along with several other independent agencies and programs. This year, the MBRC reviewed JTA's FY27 budget on June 9. If there are red flags in JTA's finances or proposed spending, this provides the Mayor's administration an opportunity to identify and raise concerns. https://www.jacksonville.gov/departments/finance/events/mbrc_fy27_psg_culturalcouncil_jta_jaa?utm_source=chatgpt.com

2. City Council separately approves JTA's annual budget by ordinance. It isn't simply buried within the City's overall budget. Council therefore has another opportunity to question JTA officials, scrutinize its finances, amend the legislation, or decline to approve the budget as presented. The Council Auditor also has statutory authority to audit JTA's use of City funds.

3. Now here's where the Mayor and Council have real teeth. Florida Statute §349.041 is specific to the JTA. It says: "The authority shall prepare and submit annually its requests for such funds as it may require from the city for the ensuing year to the council of the city on or before June 1, setting forth its estimation for related gross revenues and estimated requirements for operations, maintenance expenses, and debt service. A copy of such requests shall be furnished to the Department of Transportation. The council and the mayor of the City of Jacksonville may appropriate such funds as they deem appropriate for the use of the authority, and the use of such funds shall be subject to audit by the Council Auditor of the City of Jacksonville." https://leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0300-0399%2F0349%2FSections%2F0349.041.html%2F&utm_source=chatgpt.com

4. The Mayor also participates in the City's legislative and budget process and has veto authority over legislation passed by City Council, subject to Council's ability to override a veto. So there is an additional executive check in the process.

5. As discussed already in the thread, the Mayor and City Council have a direct role in JTA's governance. Three of JTA's seven board members are appointed by the Mayor and must be confirmed by City Council. The remaining four are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate. And as I previously said, the current Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer of the JTA are all Mayoral Appointments.

[Ken_FSU]

^I think at the end of the day, perception is reality. If the public believes that the Mayor turned a blind eye (or cheered on) while the JTA squandered tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on a stupid vanity project, then she's genuinely exposed. That said, I just don't think the average Jacksonville citizen is particularly engaged or knowledgable about transit issues. If they were, we would have seen calls for Nat Ford's head years ago and we wouldn't see the majority of survey respondents voting to turn the Skyway into an electrified trapeze park.

[Jax_Developer]

^ Yes & that's exactly the point. The responsibility is on the Mayor & Council to insure things are not out of order. We all can agree Diamond is a loose cannon, but nonetheless multiple members of council brought up concerns to the point that they had a few special meetings with JTA being the spotlight.

Donna has repeatedly endorsed JTA & Ford... while not doing her own DD. Again sorry... you don't get the benefit of the doubt as a mayor in my book. All that to say she has done a major disservice to the citizens of Jacksonville... really not so different to Curry w/ JEA... just with different tactics this time around.

The media connections are coming in handy!

[jaxlongtimer]

^ I think the Mayor bears some responsibility but I would also question why those in her inner circle of the Administration weren't more strident in "protecting" her. I personally gave NAVI warnings to one of the Mayor's inner circle, several prominent City Council supporters, and several of the Mayor's top outside advisors over the last 3 years, to no apparent effect.

To add, it's clear that Ford also seduced the JTA Board and most of the City Council for many years plus Deegan's predecessor, Curry.

Not sure how he snowed the City's auditors either.

Does anyone know if Wyman Duggan, a rumored Mayoral candidate, assisted in getting State support for NAVI?  If so, he should be effectively neutralized on this issue.  Same for our other State and Federal delegations.

Lots of blame to go around.  Not an ideal defense but may diffuse some of the harm to Deegan.

Credit to Jaxon posters for the call outs.  Too bad hardly no one was listening elsewhere.

I wonder if Dallas is paying attention and having any "buyer's remorse." 

[tufsu1]

Donna has repeatedly endorsed JTA & Ford... while not doing her own DD. Again sorry... you don't get the benefit of the doubt as a mayor in my book. All that to say she has done a major disservice to the citizens of Jacksonville... really not so different to Curry w/ JEA... just with different tactics this time around.

The previous administration also bears responsibility. It was an agreement between Mayor Curry and JTA that split the LOGT revenues 50/50. Its in large part due to people on this site that approx. $135 million originally proposed for the Skyway / U2C was instead allocated to the Emerald Trail prior to Council approving the LOGT extension.

[Jax_Developer]

Sure, and there are consequences of Deegan's admin we won't see until a few years from now. Thats politics. Don't you find it ironic how she campaigned against the "good ole boy" network yet... well, lol.

Also btw... Curry inherited Ford too... and who blew up the Emerald Trail & under which admin? Also who removed a Board Member from their post prematurely & replaced them with a former mayor with literally zero background lol....

[marcuscnelson]

I wonder if Dallas is paying attention and having any "buyer's remorse." 

Outlets there are beginning to cover this, whether it matters is yet to be seen.

https://www.keranews.org/transportation/2026-09-22/dart-ceo-leaves-prior-transportation-agency-with-32-million-budget-deficit

Included there is a Council Auditor report that provides a little more detail into the source of the deficit, starting on Page 8:

JACKSONVILLE TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY

The financial report of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is projecting an overall deficit of $31.8 million at year-end. The unfavorable variance is made up of a projected $17.4 million shortfall in revenues and projection that budgetary capacity for expenditures will be. exceeded by $14.4 million.

The main cause of the projected revenue shortfall of $17.4 million is due to projected shortfalls in Net of Debt Sales and Constitutional Gas Tax of $10.5 million mainly due to a downward trend in the sales tax, in interest earnings of $3.3 million due to less cash available, in Net Local Option Gas Tax of $3.3 million based on actual collections, and Passenger Fare of $1.8 million due to the passenger fare reductions during the year. These were partially offset with projected favorable variance in State Transportation Disadvantaged Funds of $1.5 million.

The main cause of the expenditures being projected to exceed budget by $14.4 million is due to a projected negative variance of $8.4 million within the Services category of CTC due to the contract for the service provider not being budgeted for the full year and the overall fringe benefits category of $7.4 million due to benefit related expenses not being budgeted accurately. Note that it is expected that expense authority will be exceeded by $11.4 million since $3 million of expense projection is to fund contingencies; however, this does still mean that they are projected to spend $14.4 million more than they had budgeted for as part of the budget.

Based on JTA's projections, they will need a budgetary amendment due to exceeding expense authority.

One question I'm beginning to have: has Ford already left JTA as of now? He's not officially due to start at DART for another month but given how JTA's press release discusses the cuts, it would appear that Ferguson is already serving as interim CEO. What is Ford doing between now and the end of the month? Have there been any questions for him by city or other officials about how his leadership put everyone in this position?