JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's been two weeks of almost complete silence following a request made by the city's Ethics Director, Carla Miller, and the Chair of the JEA Board of Directors, April Green.
On Jan. 9, they sent a letter to JEA's Senior Leadership Team (SLT) asking if they would voluntarily forfeit the substantial and costly benefits given to them in a contract on July 23, 2019, the day the Invitation to Negotiation bidding process went public. The benefits would go into effect for them if JEA was sold or merged.
Those additional benefits include an $850 car allowance per month, an entertainment allowance (i.e. dinner) of $750-$1600 per month, a 20-week pay plus benefits guarantee after termination and the guarantee that they can be consultants after employment with JEA, which would allow their pay and benefits to extend an additional 3-6 months.
Miller and Green gave the SLT until 12 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17 to respond to the letter; which First Coast News was told was a letter of "ethics", not a "legal" letter.
Their letter was presented to the city council Tuesday night. Council members were supportive of the letter but also taken aback over the added allowances that were given to the senior leadership team.
The morning of the deadline arrived and neither Miller nor Green had any concrete answer to their request. In fact, there has been silence in response to the letter, with exception to one attorney who requested more time.
First Coast News has been informed that multiple people from the SLT have brought lawyers into the matter.
A few hours before the designated noon deadline on Friday, Miller sent a new letter to JEA Interim CEO and Managing Director Melissa Dykes, asking Dykes to forward the letter to the entire SLT. In the Friday letter, Miller acknowledges that new developments in the JEA investigation may require more time to process the decision over the benefits. She also informs the team that she is consulting with the Office of General Counsel (OGC).
Prior to the contracts given to the SLT on July 23, with the substantial benefits in questions, they had never been under contract, with exception to the CEO of JEA. Thus, the very initiation of having a contract for SLT was unusual.
In the contracts, the executive employees are promised yearly reviews of the salaries, in which a consultant will compare their base salary with the national standard and then adjust accordingly.
COPY OF FULL LETTER FROM ETHICS DIRECTOR:
Dear Senior Leadership Team Member,
On January 9th, April Green and I sent a letter to you requesting that you give consideration to voluntarily agreeing to cancel the contracts you received as a result of the JEA Board meeting of July 23, 2019.
April Green sent this letter in her personal capacity and I sent it based upon my Code duties to encourage ethics compliance.
Since that letter was sent, significant events have occurred in that there is now a federal grand jury investigation into JEA matters and the City Council is commencing its own investigation and reviewing the JEA employment contracts.
I have met with OGC on Thursday regarding the January 17th deadline and the process going forward as I have been asked for an extension of time. OGC intends to meet with each of you individually next week to review your contracts. Because of this review by OGC next week, I will withdraw my deadline for today at noon. I reiterate my wish that in your contract discussions with OGC, you carefully assess the ethics of the situation and what actions will increase citizen trust in JEA.
I will be meeting with OGC on Friday, January 24th, to see what progress has been made on your contracts and to plan any future actions. I would hope that the contract issues can be resolved equitably prior to the JEA Board meeting on January 28th.
Best wishes for your discussion with OGC next week.
Carla Miller
Ethics Director, City of Jacksonville
