A.G. Gancarski
A day doesn’t seem to pass lately without JEA, Jacksonville’s public utility monopoly, making the news. This might be ideal, were it not for issues with the board itself.
Today’s news item, from Nate Monroe at the Florida Times-Union, involves the resignation of yet another board member, at the request of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, who sought a clean sweep of the board a few days ago.
The resignation of Wyman Winbush leaves the board without a quorum.
Monroe has had the inside track on JEA Board stories, and there are those familiar with the internal workings of the company who have said that at least one board member (a Republican who seems like a shoo-in for reappointment) and employees, who are disgruntled with operations, have been leaking key items to him.
Of course, that’s the nature of journalism. Every juicy tidbit comes from somewhere, for a purpose best understood by the person sharing it.
Monroe quotes Winbush’s letter, which radiates with the kind of self-justification familiar to those who have been following this endless narrative.
“Incentive pay [for JEA CEO Paul McElroy] is such a practice that drives many corporate entities to deliver extraordinary results when properly used as a tool to create a high achievement corporate cultures and to maximize the productivity of individual employees,” Winbush wrote.
“We do ourselves a disservice by calling such incentive programs a ‘bonus’ knowing the response to such phraseology will receive from those who are not charged with driving optimum team performance.”
Whether JEA is a “high achievement corporate culture” with “optimum team performance” or not is a matter of debate. There seems to be a gulf between the general public and those inside the building on this matter.
That gulf isn’t resolved by the pallid media presence of the CEO.
The fun continues next week for fans of the JEA meta-discourse. Tuesday afternoon’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council’s Rules Committee will involve committee interviews of prospective new board members; Rules includes Councilman Tommy Hazouri, the former Jacksonville mayor who has been sharply critical of the Curry administration’s approach to refashioning boards and commissions according to its “vision.”
Then, for those who just can’t get enough, the stage is set for a blockbuster meeting of the Council’s JEA Special Agreement committee on Wednesday morning. The regular meeting, deferred from earlier this week, was already slated to involve a frank discussion of the “scripted comments” used to justify the raises given to JEA CEO McElroy. Undoubtedly, the flux on the board will lead to even more energetic discussion.
There are, of course, real world consequences to these stories. Credit and bond ratings very likely will be adversely impacted by these splashy organizational happenings getting prominent media coverage. As well, there are those who contend that if the JEA Agreement is negotiated in terms favorable to the city, customers will end up paying what amounts to a hidden tax via increased utility bills.
But for now, it’s at least good reading.
