JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A City Council review of Mayor Donna Deegan's travel found she did not use any taxpayer money for a personal vacation she made in Italy after she represented the city in London on JAX Chamber's annual trade mission, according to a draft report given Tuesday to the council's Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee asked the council auditor's office to review travel documents after City Council member Terrance Freeman said he had questions about whether Deegan used taxpayer money for the Italian trip.
The mayor's office said at the time that all travel documents are a matter of public record available for anyone to review and Deegan did not bill taxpayers for any part of her vacation in Italy.
A draft report by the City Council auditor says there "do not appear to be any instances of non-compliance with city law regarding travel" during Deegan's time in London. The report says it does not appear any taxpayer funds were spent during Deegan's subsequent vacation time period.
“This report confirms what has already been stated multiple times," the mayor's office said in a statement. "Mayor Deegan has been completely transparent with taxpayers. She is working tirelessly to deliver jobs and business to Jacksonville. These trips are undertaken to grow the city’s economy and are an investment in our future.”
As other Jacksonville mayors have done in the past, Deegan joined business leaders on the trip to London to meet with companies based in the United Kingdom about locating and expanding in Jacksonville.
Deegan did not seek reimbursement by the city for the cost of her plane tickets or seek per diem reimbursements for meals.
She paid for her own airfare as she did in 2023 when she joined JAX Chamber a year ago in London. She also paid for her own meals in 2023.
Her office previously said the only taxpayer money for her trip this year in October was to cover hotel lodging during her time in London from Oct. 12-15 when she was representing the city.
City Council Auditor Kim Taylor told the Finance Committee the $2,978 cost of four nights of lodging in London for Deegan included $178.81 on the hotel bill for "incidental charges" that include a meal, internet charges and a minibar charge. Deegan will reimburse the city for the incidental charges and that will put the cost covered by the city for her lodging at $2,799, according to the report.
While in London, Deegan took part in the United Kingdom's International Investment Summit, met with banking and fintech companies and the U.S. ambassador to U.K. and did media interviews. She then went from London to Italy for a personal vacation.
The chamber's trip is timed to coincide when the Jaguars are playing overseas games in London, and Jacksonville has some share of the sports media spotlight in the U.K.
JAX Chamber President Daniel Davis said in a statement that Deegan's involvement in the trade missions is "critical to our efforts to bring businesses and jobs back to Jacksonville and she has set us up for even more success in the years ahead."
"We have seen our momentum significantly accelerate since she joined the trade missions in 2023 and 2024," Davis said. "The mayor goes above and beyond, and we thank her for the continued partnership."
This story was first published by The Florida Times-Union.
