JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fireworks flew at the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s board meeting on Thursday. One board member went on the record with major concerns about ridership numbers and sponsorship funding.
Federal funding is tied to ridership numbers, so if the numbers are wrong, that’s a big problem.
Director Megan Hayward is also calling for an audit into sponsorship money that would directly impact the employer of fellow board members.
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“I want to make sure that this is aboveboard, that we’re actually building public trust,” Hayward said from the dais at Thursday’s meeting.
Hayward was appointed to the JTA board by Mayor Donna Deegan but could be on her way out. Deegan filed legislation Tuesday to oust her from the board with a year and a half left on her term, replacing Hayward with former Neptune Beach Mayor Elaine Brown.
With the remaining time Hayward had left with the microphone, she called for an audit into the JTA’s more than $60,000 sponsorship of JAXUSA.
Aundra Wallace, the Vice Chair of the JTA Board of Directors, is the president of JAXUSA. Hayward said she’s worried about it.
“As this is a direct payment to one of our board members, I strongly believe this needs to be looked at by an independent auditor so that we know that this isn’t exposing the board to any liability,” Hayward said.
In the meeting, JTA’s attorney said it has an opinion on the sponsorship saying it is legal but did not explain further. Action News Jax has requested that opinion and reached out to Wallace for comment.
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However, Hayward raised concerns about the sponsorship beyond its legality.
“Perception is reality, and even if there is a legal loophole that allows us to make direct payments to board members, there’s a perception of it. We need to appear beyond reproach,” Hayward said.
Hayward also raised the red flag on discrepancies between ridership numbers reported to the board versus those reported to the federal government.
“We have this fiduciary duty to the people of Jacksonville, and we need to do everything we can to make sure we’re compliant with state, with federal, state, and local laws,” Hayward told the board.
Federal funding is based on ridership data. We pulled the numbers reported to both the American Public Transportation Authority and those reported in the board packet. Depending on the month, they show a difference of about two thousand riders a month.\
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In the meeting, CEO Nat Ford could not immediately explain why.
‘We will examine the director’s concern and report back to this board at the next board meeting,” Ford said.
Hayward has six weeks left on the JTA board if the legislation to replace her passes the council. It goes before the rules committee on Monday.
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