Eye received a message from a JEA employee who did not identify himself. He said, “You need to check out the El Paso, Texas Utility deal. Very similar to what is going on at JEA.”

The JEA employee is fearful of being identified and that makes our blood boil at Eye. This is America and no one should be afraid of outing bad deals within their organization. But they are afraid. And that makes this JEA deal stink even more so.

On their advice, we googled El Paso Utility and lo and behold, you must take a look at the big payouts for the executives! HUGE bonuses in the millions! Read the local news article “El Paso Electric executives, board members to get big paydays under proposed sale”.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it. Just this week, Lloyd Brown, Eye’s Senior editor outed the “boneheaded compensation bonuses” if JEA is sold. You can read his article here: https://eyeonjacksonville.com/latest-fiasco-another-indicator-change-is-needed-at-jea/

It appears someone at the highest level of JEA has been given a “play book” by a potential buyer and it reeks of “under the table deal making.”

Eye gives a Wink to the JEA employee who informed us of the El Paso Utility deal. AND…we give a Wink to the City Council for pulling in the reins on this windfall for executives if JEA sells.

JEA has become a serious corrupt issue. There is no other word we can find to state the sad state of affairs at this once well-run and well-respected utility. As a former consultant to the Board, I personally feel sad and amazed that JEA has become so corrupted.

The Mayor made a major mistake firing all the former board members and putting his buddy in place to be the CEO. He may sit in his office and pretend he has nothing to do with the mess — but — his appointees have made a mess of it and the buck stops with him.

The headline for this article asked, “What does El Paso Utility sale have to do with JEA sale?”

The answer: Money for a certain few.