JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is responding after a city council member called for an audit of her overseas trip to Europe earlier this month.
In a release posted to social media Monday morning, Jacksonville City Councilman Terrance Freeman called for a "full audit" of Deegan's trade trip to London, claiming the mayor took a personal vacation during a taxpayer-funded trip to London.
"Skipping out on official business while supposedly representing Jacksonville raises serious questions about the use of public funds and whether it aligns with the trust our citizens have placed in the mayor," Freeman said in the statement.
In Freeman's release, he questioned how many members of the mayor's staff took part in the London trip, what other locations were visited and who covered the costs.
"Transparency is a priority for Mayor Deegan," the mayor's office said in a statement to First Coast News. "And her travel for city business is a matter of public record. As such, this information will always be made available to the public regardless of who is requesting it."
The statement goes on to read:
"The mayor was in London from October 12-15. She participated in the UK government's International Investment Summit, met with multiple banking and fintech companies, met with the US Ambassador to the UK and embassy staff, and gave economic development interviews. All these efforts were geared to bring jobs and businesses back to Jacksonville."
The mayor's office said Deegan had a pre-planned vacation to Italy scheduled to begin on Oct. 16, which she personally paid for. She returned to Jacksonville early Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Freeman argues Deegan "missed an important opportunity to represent Jacksonville" at the Jaguars' London game on Sunday, Oct. 20, which she did not attend.
"Instead, she chose to use this time for personal activities," Freeman said.
Aundra Wallace, the president of JAXUSA, which oversaw Deegan's trip, said the mayor's agenda was planned around her schedule and meetings were scheduled for the Monday and Tuesday she was in London.
JAXUSA said the only taxpayer expense from Deegan's trip to London was her hotel stay, which cost $2,978.18. The mayor paid for her own flights to London and meals like she did last year for her trip abroad.
"We are still pending some expenses from JAXUSA, but the trade mission cost around $22,000 for Mayor Deegan, Chief Communications Officer Phil Perry, Director of Economic Development Ed Randolph and Director of Sports & Entertainment Alex Alston," the mayor's office said.
Freeman also criticized comments made by Deegan during a radio interview in which she compared former President Donald Trump's immigration policies to "a concentration camp-type situation."
The mayor's comments drew mixed responses and prompted outrage among Duval County Republicans, including Sheriff T.K. Waters.
"During the limited time she spent on official business, the mayor made inflammatory political statements when she should have been advocating for our city, ultimately casting Jacksonville in a negative light," Freeman argued.
Deegan ultimately apologized for the comment, saying they were not meant to "diminish the unique awfulness and horror that was the Holocaust."
But, Deegan stood by her condemnation of Trump's policies, saying: "I have no regret about calling out the inhumanity of treating immigrants, or any person, as less than human. The inevitable human rights violations that would result from rounding up people for mass deportation is unthinkable and un-American."