Jacksonville board training order targets oversight of billions in public assets

Mayor Donna Deegan signed an executive order October 6 encouraging every appointee to a city board, commission, or independent agency to complete training in governance, audits, ethics, and public finance. The order also calls for chief executives of independent agencies to certify the financial information their agencies submit to the city — a step aimed at improving accountability for entities that collectively oversee billions of dollars in public assets.

Deegan announced she will work with the Jacksonville City Council to convert the order's voluntary framework into binding legal requirements through legislation. The approach acknowledges the council's charter role in confirming appointees and setting governance rules.

What the executive order does

Executive Order 2026-03 encourages all board and commission appointees to complete training covering fiduciary duties, the role of internal and external audits, internal controls and fraud awareness, Florida's Government in the Sunshine and public records laws, and state and city ethics rules. The training applies to appointees to city boards and to the governing bodies of independent agencies, including reappointments made on or after the order's effective date.

The order directs the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to develop financial literacy training covering how to read financial statements, the city's budget process, and warning signs such as bond covenant risks, credit rating changes, and pension obligations. Those sessions must be available within 90 days and will be offered at no cost to appointees.

New appointees are encouraged to complete the governance training within 90 days of city council confirmation. Appointees already serving are encouraged to complete it within 180 days. Refresher training every two years is recommended. The order emphasizes that participation is voluntary and will not be a condition of appointment or reappointment.

The order also calls for chief executives of independent agencies to certify financial statements, reports, budgets, and data submitted to the city. Each certification would state that the submission does not contain untrue or misleading material facts, that the financial information fairly presents the agency's condition, and that the agency maintains internal controls to ensure reliable reporting. The Office of General Counsel is directed to prepare a standard certification form within 60 days.

If a submission arrives without the required certification, the chief financial officer's office is instructed to treat it as incomplete, notify the agency in writing, and report any unresolved deficiency to the mayor and the agency's board chair.

Why the order matters for Jacksonville's independent agencies

Volunteers on city boards and the governing bodies of independent agencies oversee billions of dollars in public assets, revenues, and obligations. The city's largest independent agencies include JEA, the municipal electric, water, and sewer utility and one of the largest public utilities in the United States; the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), which operates public transit and the downtown Skyway; and JAXPORT, the deep-water seaport authority.

Each of these agencies maintains its own budget, staff, and financial obligations, and each has a complex financial relationship with the consolidated city government — receiving subsidies, making transfers, or carrying debt that can affect the city's overall credit rating and budget. The Downtown Investment Authority, which administers incentives and manages city-owned parcels downtown, is another independent agency with significant fiscal responsibilities.

Under the city charter and Florida law, these agencies operate with substantial autonomy. Their governing boards approve budgets, hire and oversee chief executives, issue debt, enter contracts, and make decisions that directly affect rates paid by customers, the tax base, and the city's financial standing. Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council, typically for staggered multi-year terms.

The executive order acknowledges a reality familiar to anyone who has followed local government finance: not every appointee arrives with a background in public budgeting, auditing standards, or municipal finance. The order frames training as a resource to help volunteers fulfill their fiduciary duties and asks whether taxpayers can have confidence that the people overseeing their money understand the documents in front of them.

The path from executive order to binding law

An executive order can direct the mayor's own departments and encourage behavior by appointees, but it cannot mandate compliance by independent agencies or make training a legal prerequisite for board service. Those changes require legislation.

Under Jacksonville's consolidated charter, the city council confirms appointees and sets, by ordinance, the rules that govern city boards and independent agencies. Any binding mandate for training or financial certification must come through that legislative process, not unilateral executive action.

The mayor's office said it will work with council members to draft legislation that would make governance and financial training a requirement for appointees, with deadlines for completion; strengthen standards for how appointees are vetted, appointed, and reappointed; and make financial certification binding on independent agencies through changes to the charter, ordinance code, or interlocal agreements as needed.

The executive order directs the Office of General Counsel to recommend the legal changes required and asks that the analysis be shared with the council as legislation takes shape. The timeline for introducing and voting on such legislation was not specified in the order or the mayor's announcement.

What this means for transparency and accountability

The certification requirement, if adopted into law, would establish a clear line of responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of financial information flowing from independent agencies to the mayor, city council, and council auditor. Under the proposed framework, a chief executive officer would sign a statement affirming that the numbers submitted fairly present the agency's financial condition and that any known material weaknesses in internal controls have been disclosed.

That approach mirrors practices common in corporate and nonprofit governance, where chief executives certify financial statements to investors, creditors, and regulators. In the public sector, certification is designed to help elected officials and auditors identify risks early and make sound budgetary decisions. It also creates a documented trail of accountability if problems surface later.

The order states that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer should treat any submission lacking certification as incomplete and report unresolved deficiencies to the mayor and the agency's board chair. How that requirement would be enforced — and what consequences would follow non-compliance — would depend on the language of any legislation that follows.

Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law already requires that meetings of boards and commissions be open to the public and that official actions be taken in public. The state's public records law makes financial documents and correspondence subject to disclosure. The city's Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight enforces local ethics rules. The new order layers governance and financial literacy training on top of those existing legal frameworks.

What happens next

The executive order took effect immediately on October 6. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer has 90 days to develop and begin offering financial training sessions. The Office of General Counsel has 60 days to prepare a standard financial certification form.

The mayor's Boards and Commissions staff will coordinate with the finance office, general counsel, the ethics office, and the council auditor's office to develop the governance and audit curriculum. Staff will maintain a record of each appointee's completion and report participation to the mayor quarterly.

The Office of General Counsel is also tasked with recommending charter, ordinance, or interlocal agreement amendments needed to make training and certification legally binding. That analysis will inform draft legislation the mayor's office plans to develop in collaboration with city council members. No timeline for council introduction or hearings has been announced.

Board chairs may request entity-specific briefings from the chief financial officer's office on their agency's financial position and obligations to the city. The chief administrative officer will oversee implementation and report to the mayor on progress within 180 days.

The order fits into a broader pattern across Northeast Florida's rapidly growing local governments: heightened scrutiny of how appointed boards steward public resources, particularly as infrastructure demands and debt obligations grow alongside population. As the region adds households, schools, roads, and utility capacity, the decisions made by the volunteer appointees overseeing those assets carry greater fiscal weight — and greater public interest in whether those volunteers have the tools to do the job.