The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission defended itself in a response to a report issued last year by the City Council Auditor’s Office, saying what was presented as a random review was targeted at just a few mistakes.
“We are pleased that in an operation that has had its budget cut over 50 percent in the last seven years and went from 42 employes to 17 (including a loss of four compliance positions) the audit found no major lack of oversight in the JEDC’s compliance effort,” said the response, which was prepared in October and delivered to the auditor at the end of November.
That statement seems to be at odds with the findings. The auditor’s report, released in December, charged the JEDC with improperly paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in incentives and being careless in reviewing contractor expenditures.
Mayor Alvin Brown has asked the Legislature for the necessary permission to shutter the JEDC to give him more control over economic development.
Unusual for an audit, the auditor’s report did not include a response from the agency being reviewed.
That, Council Auditor Kirk Sherman said, is because the response was factually incorrect, as opposed to simply arguing about interpretations of findings.
“If you’re going to give us something that’s so far off,” Sherman said, “we’re not even going to put it in.”
JEDC had no comment on the response when recently contacted. The agency submitted its response, spokeswoman Ginny Walthour said, and it was the council auditor’s decision to accept it or not.
Among the findings of the audit was that two of five companies receiving incentives from the city were overpaid. Winn-Dixie, the largest, returned more than $328,000.
The report selectively, not randomly, chose which deals to review, the response says.
“A more random selection process to chose projects would have produced different results,” it says.
Frustration at budget cuts affecting the agency stand out in the report, such as in its response to a suggestion it publish comprehensive annual public investment reports.
“The JEDC no longer has any budget available to publish such an annual report nor the resources to put together such a report,” it said.
Later, when it was recommended that it cross-train employees to prevent a loss of institutional knowledge, the agency said it would welcome the resources to do so, but that it was not possible now.
JEDC also defended itself over payments it made to a contractor at the city-owned Cecil Commerce Center who submitted bills for newspaper subscriptions, a $400 coffeemaker and cable TV service.
Those items were necessary for the contractor to keep track of bid advertisements, to supply the national and international visitors who visit the site and to get access to the Weather Channel, the agency said.
“The contractor is in charge of addressing access and handling the drainage concerns for over 6,000 acres of flood-prone land,” the response said. “However, the contractor has been asked to eliminate this service and rely solely on Internet and cellular phones.”
You need to be a member of First Coast Tea Party to add comments!
Join First Coast Tea Party