JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Tuesday, JEA committees proposed giving its CEO a raise and raising customers’ monthly bills over the next 2 years.
The JEA Compensation Committee approved a recommendation of a 3-year contract with two mutually agreed upon 1-year terms for CEO Vickie Cavey. Her salary would increase from $560,000 to $700,000 with 3% annual increases.
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In addition, Cavey would receive a $2,000 monthly business allowance and $850 a month vehicle allowance.
“Over the last 10 months, Vickie has led JEA with a dedication to fiscal stewardship, reestablishing trust with the board and a commitment to the community we serve,” JEA board chair Joe DiSalvo said. “CEO compensation is governed by board policy. It should be ‘similar to other public utilities comparable to JEA when taking into account the size of JEA’s territory area, employee workforce, and utility systems.’ In key operational metrics, JEA is in the 80th percentile of large public power utilities nationally; yet the current JEA CEO compensation is in the 40th percentile. Today, the committee approves a contract we believe is in the best interest of JEA and maintaining stable leadership for the foreseeable future.”
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Cavey replaced former CEO Jay Stowe who resigned under pressure in April 2024, partly due to accusations of rising costs including pay raises for executives who lived out of the area. Stowe was making approximately $670,000 plus similar perks as Cavey.
Cavey’s hiring led to a City of Jacksonville Office of Inspector General investigation to determine if board members violated sunshine laws after there was no public discussion of Cavey ascending to the interim CEO role at the time.
The State Attorney’s office determined there were no laws broken, but the whistleblower told Action News Jax Ben Becker at the time it was a “B.S. cover-up job.”
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Since Cavey took over, the utility has agreed to increase its contribution to the city by more than $120 million over the next five years.
It has also committed to sharing the multi-million cost of raising power lines over the St. Johns River with JAXPORT.
Both scenarios were not fully supported by Stowe.
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JEA presented to the Finance Committee about raising customers’ monthly bills for electric, water, and sewer over the next two years. According to the utility, under the proposed rate adjustments, as of April 1, 2025, the combined utility costs would be $209.86 for residential customers using 1,000-kilowatt hours and 5/8″ meter water service with taxes and fees and in 2026 that would increase to $221.69. In October 2024, the combined utility bill for customers using 1,000 kWh was $205.66. That works out to $4.61 in 2025 and $11.42 in 2026, for a total of $16.03 per month.
“JEA’s proposed rate increase reflects a tiered electric option for residential customers. Converting to tiered rate structure offer an opportunity to keep electricity bills more affordable for customers who consume less electricity. Even with the proposed rate increases, JEA will continue to have the lowest utility rates in Florida among major metropolitan regions,” a spokesperson said.
The board will vote on Cavey’s contract and there will be a rate hearing on Feb. 25.
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