The Jacksonville Aviation Authority has agreed to seek a solution to its claim of an overstep of power by Jacksonville City Council in the Florida Legislature as opposed to the courts.
On July 31, the independent JAA and Mayor Donna Deegan’s office issued a joint statement and a memorandum of understanding saying JAA would refrain from filing its lawsuit after being informed that Rep. Sam Garrison, the House speaker designate, intended to introduce legislation on the issue during the 2027 legislative session.
Both JAA and the city requested that state lawmakers “pass legislation providing clear direction as to the structure, roles, and responsibilities of the JAA,” the memorandum said.
JAA, which was created by the state of Florida but also is part of Jacksonville’s state-approved city charter, claims that in approving the authority’s 2025-26 budget, Council made an illegal $10 million transfer to help create a potential future JAA/Florida State College at Jacksonville Northeast Advanced Aviation Maintenance Training Center at a hangar at Cecil Airport in West Jacksonville. JAA operates the airport.
During the July 16 JAA board meeting, members voted 6-0 to sue the city but also approved a motion to delay the action by 30 days, establishing an Aug. 15 deadline. The motion called for JAA to work with the city Office of General Counsel during that time toward mediating the dispute and avoiding legal action.
In the July 31 statement, JAA said it “looks forward to the Florida Legislature providing clear direction as to the Authority’s structure, roles and responsibilities in their 2027 session. With that clarity defined, the Authority can once again turn its full attention to managing a world-class airport system.”
The statement said Deegan “looks forward to working alongside the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and the Florida Legislature on this important matter.”
JAA claims that Council, under Council President Nick Howland’s lead, has unlawfully interfered with JAA’s budget and operations. JAA also alleges that the city Office of General Counsel wrongfully claimed the Council’s actions were lawful and that the JAA does not have authority to sue the city under the city charter.
For the Cecil Field hangar at the center of the dispute, JAA says spending the money involved in Council’s budget transfer would put it in breach of contract with its tenant at the property, the private company Million Air, and could bring punitive action from the Federal Aviation Administration for diverting funds meant for airport operations.
At the July 16 board meeting, Howland said the Council-approved transfer was not an illegal diversion of revenue. He noted that it came with a condition that none of the funding would be spent unless JAA, FSCJ, the state and the FAA agreed to the expenditure.
“JAA has the funds now. We haven’t taken them, and we expressly prohibited spending anything without FAA approval,” he said. “JAA doesn’t have to spend any of the money that we allocated if it doesn’t want to.”
Howland said JAA’s claims were “easily disproved” and that its proposed lawsuit was “about control.”
Michael Fackler, head of the city Office of General Counsel, told the board in September the city charter established the OGC as counsel for the JAA and that only the OGC could issue binding opinions on JAA matters involving internal conflicts with the city.
Repeating a point he made in September, Fackler told the board July 16 that the OGC is the chief legal officer for JAA and that the state designated his office as the arbiter for any internal disputes.
Saying JAA had not asked him for a legally binding opinion on its claims, Fackler said, “Give us an opportunity to answer the questions you have instead of running off to a court.