A.G. Gancarski
The cloud officially has been lifted from Jacksonville’s public utility.
On Friday, the 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office exonerated JEA Board members of “unwarranted and unfounded” charges that the state’s Sunshine Law had been violated, in the wake of anonymous allegations from a JEA employee that they had met to discuss the selection of a new CEO at Southern Grounds, a coffee shop in Avondale.
The report finds “there is no objectively reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in this matter,” and that “the allegations were without merit and no referral should have been made.”
While Jacksonville’s Inspector General did find “members did communicate with each other outside of publicly noticed meetings during the transition process,” the SAO report said that the decision to pick CEO Vickie Cavey happened during a publicly noticed meeting.
Regarding the “whistleblower,” the report from the office of State Attorney Melissa Nelson considered what was called “the Complainant’s potential bias, motive, and credibility in assessing the Complainant’s allegations.”
The meeting at the coffee shop, per the report, addressed the resignation of former CEO Jay Stowe, rather than the selection of his eventual replacement.
“The Complainant alleged that (board member) Jay Stein tasked (JEA leadership team members) Laura Schepis and Kurt Wilson to notify other board members about Stowe’s resignation, organize Stowe’s severance package, and draft a three-year employment offer for Cavey as CEO. None of these delegated activities are violations of the Sunshine Law.”
Moreover, the SAO finds that “had any Sunshine Law violations occurred, they were cured by the JEA Board’s subsequent publicly noticed meetings.”
Discussions of Stowe’s resignation ahead of the fact likewise were not violations of the Sunshine Law, given that no board action accompanied the former CEO’s decision to leave his post.
Finally, the formal meeting where action was taken in a transparent manner cured alleged process deficiencies.
“The allegations of Sunshine Law violations are unfounded. But even if there was sufficient
evidence of Sunshine Law violations, the violations were cured by two separately noticed and
public meetings regarding Cavey’s appointment. These noticed and public meetings weigh
against any finding that Board members violated the Sunshine Law,” the SAO finds.
