After a meeting with State Attorney Melissa Nelson, City Council member Matt Carlucci said he no longer sees the need to file a resolution calling for a grand jury investigation into JEA.
Carlucci met with Nelson for more than 90 minutes Jan. 3 to discuss her look into the public utility.
Nelson’s office confirmed Dec. 18 it is “looking into matters involving JEA” after multiple calls from Jacksonville officials and organizations for an investigation into the public utility’s push to privatize.
Carlucci did not confirm Nelson will convene a grand jury, but he said in a phone interview after their meeting that he’s “confident in the integrity and thoroughness of the state attorney’s investigation.”
“I am also pleased and confident that at the end of the State Attorney’s Office work that a report will be made public,” Carlucci said. “This is what has always been most important to me.”
“That’s oftentimes what grand juries do — write a report,” he said.
As state attorney for Florida’s 4th Circuit, Nelson has the authority convene a grand jury. The jurors are selected at random and have the power to issue an indictment or a report at the end of its investigation.
A grand jury’s work is done confidentially.
The JEA board voted Dec. 24 to end its invitation to negotiate with nine private companies that could have led to a recommendation to sell the public utility.
In a Dec. 15 letter, Carlucci called for a grand jury investigation.
State Attorney’s Office Communications Director David Chapman said Jan. 3 Nelson’s office had no update on its JEA investigation.
He referred to Nelson’s Dec. 18 written statement:
“We have heard the concerns of the community over the past several months. This office is — and has been — looking into matters involving JEA. We will not be commenting further,” Nelson said.
Carlucci’s meeting with Nelson was four days before the JEA board of directors special meeting Jan. 7 to discuss the status of severance negotiations with former Managing Director and CEO Aaron Zahn.
The board voted 5-1 on Dec. 17 to fire Zahn without cause. He remains on paid administrative leave until the two sides can come to an agreement.
Talks between the city Office of General Counsel and Zahn’s private attorney did not meet a Dec. 30 target set by the board to finalize Zahn’s severance package and amend his employment contract language.
Board Chair April Green advocated for Zahn’s termination with cause, stating she feels the CEO misled her and the board on several issues. That included an employee bonus plan that could have cost JEA up to $600 million if the utility was sold.
Council President Scott Wilson said Jan. 3 he intends to move forward with appointing a special committee to investigate the canceled employee bonus program and the process that created the invitation to negotiate.
Wilson said the Office of General Counsel is working on an outline for the Council investigative committee. He wants committee members to be able to use the Council’s subpoena power to call witnesses and place them under oath.
Wilson said he last met with General Counsel Jason Gabriel “about a week-and-a-half ago,” and he hopes to have the committee framework ready to present to Council by its Jan. 14 meeting.
“The public has a right to know, and I want to allow the time to get it right,” Wilson said.
Some Jacksonville area organizations are calling for probes into JEA that go beyond investigating utility officials.
The Jacksonville NAACP Branch has received support of the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches and the National NAACP to ask the U.S. Congress to open a criminal investigation into Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration and senior JEA executives in response to the possible sale of the utility.
Jacksonville NAACP Branch President Isaiah Rumlin sent a letter Dec. 11 to five members of the U.S. House of Representatives requesting the federal probe.