I’ve been around JEA long enough to know how this is supposed to work.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to sit at the table as a consultant and help shape the very governance policies that guide the JEA board today. We weren’t just checking boxes or drafting language to sit on a shelf. There was real intention behind it — to create a structure where strong, independent oversight could exist without political interference creeping into the day-to-day operations of a very complex utility.

The idea was simple:

Let the professionals run the utility. Let the board hold them accountable. Keep politics out of it.

Clean. Clear. Disciplined. That was the plan.

Which is why what’s happening right now in Jacksonville feels a little like watching a play where the actors have started ignoring the script.

The City Council has stepped in and formed a special investigatory committee to look into JEA — digging into questions about uncollected capacity fees and concerns about workplace culture that, from the outside looking in, appear to have been simmering for a while.

And I’ll tell you honestly, my first reaction wasn’t political. It was instinctive.

I found myself thinking,
“Wait a minute… isn’t this exactly what the board is supposed to be doing?”

Because here’s what I know — not from reading about it, but from being part of the conversations that shaped it…

The board was never meant to be passive. It was designed to be the steady hand. The one that asks the uncomfortable questions. The one that doesn’t flinch when something doesn’t feel right. The one that steps in early, not late.

It’s not always easy work. In fact, if you’re doing it right, it’s rarely comfortable. But it’s necessary.

And when that doesn’t happen — or even when it appears that it might not be happening — something shifts.

People notice.

And eventually, someone else decides they need to step in.

Now, I understand why the City is doing what it’s doing.

If there’s even a question that millions of dollars in fees weren’t collected — money that ties back to growth, infrastructure, and ultimately the burden placed on taxpayers — that’s not something you just glance over and move on from. Add in concerns about workplace culture, and you’ve got a situation that naturally gets attention. That part makes sense.

But here’s where it gets uncomfortable.

JEA was structured specifically so that moments like this would be handled within its own governance framework. Not because anyone wanted to hide anything — but because accountability works best when it’s clear, direct, and owned.

And right now, it doesn’t feel clear.

What we have instead is a bit of a tug-of-war.

The City is investigating.
The board still holds the authority to act.
The board is saying, “Let us do our job.”
And the City is saying, “We’re not sure you did.”

Meanwhile, the public is standing there watching the whole thing unfold, wondering who’s actually in charge and thinking … here we go again. Another JEA scandal.

My thoughts are not really about choosing sides between the City and the board.

It’s about something more fundamental than that.

It’s about whether the structure we put in place — the one designed to protect both the utility and the public — is being fully used the way it was intended.

Because if it is, then the board should be out front on this. Leading it. Owning it. Driving it.

And if it’s not…

Then we don’t just have a JEA issue. We have a governance issue.

What I’d love to see — and what Jacksonville deserves — is for this to settle back into clarity.

Let the facts come out. All of them.
Let the board lean in and do the job it was created to do.
And let the City provide oversight in a way that strengthens the structure, not replaces it.

Because when two groups start steering the same ship, you don’t get better direction.

You get chaos.

And here’s the part we shouldn’t ignore…

This moment is bigger than JEA.

It’s a stress test of whether Jacksonville still believes in the systems it built — or whether we’ve reached a point where those systems only work when everything is going well.

Because governance isn’t proven when things are easy.
It’s proven when something goes wrong.

Right now, Jacksonville is finding out.

And the outcome matters.

Because if the board reasserts its role, asks the hard questions, and leads with clarity, then this becomes a moment where the system worked — even if it got tested along the way.

But if we walk away from this with blurred lines, shared responsibility, and no clear accountability.

Then we haven’t just investigated a problem.

We’ve created a bigger one.

JEA doesn’t need more noise. It certainly doesn’t need more politics.
And it absolutely doesn’t need more confusion.

It needs leadership and accountability.

And it needs a board willing to step fully into the role it was given.

Because if the watchdog won’t lead…

Don’t be surprised when someone else picks up the leash. And once that happens, it’s a lot harder to hand it back.