Jacksonville’s Office of Inspector General has launched an investigation into the city-owned utility JEA over what could be millions of dollars in uncollected capacity fees.

Capacity fees are the one-time charges developers and large property owners pay when they connect to — or significantly expand use of — the city’s water and sewer systems. The fees are designed to help pay for the infrastructure needed to serve that growth.

According to reports, the Jacksonville Office of Inspector General has asked the City Auditor to review whether JEA failed to properly charge those fees and, if so, how much money may have been left on the table.

Some reports suggest the issue could involve tens of millions of dollars in potential unpaid fees tied to major developments and expansions.

Eye reached out to other developers and builders and all of them paid capacity fees on their projects.  They are just as stunned by this news as we are.

JEA says it is reviewing its records and working to improve how it tracks capacity changes with large customers.

The auditor’s review will determine:

• Whether required fees were missed
• How widespread the issue may be
• And whether those fees could be collected retroactively

For Jacksonville residents already facing rising utility costs, the obvious question is simple:

Was this a paperwork problem, a policy problem — or something more?   

Eye will keep an “eye” on this developing story. One thing is certain, JEA needs to fix this and make sure everyone pays their fair share.