Jacksonville City Council approves contribution extension with JEA

An existing contribution agreement between the City of Jacksonville and JEA has been extended after a vote tonight by the City Council.

The extension is for two more years, but the current agreement wasn't set to run out just yet. JEA says tonight's vote extends the terms and conditions through September 2023 with some slight changes.

The deal calls for a minimum 1 percent increase in JEA's contribution to the City each year. The deal also calls for JEA to give more than 43 metric tons of water to the City each year, which according to the agency is worth more than $8.5 million to help offset future costs.

JEA says they will also provide an additional $15 million contribution to the City for the Septic Tank Phase Out program, bringing the total amount given to that program to $45 million going back to 2016.

Another new element is a one-time $155,000 contribution to the City for river-level monitoring equipment that was damaged during recent hurricanes, according to JEA.

JEA has also agreed to manage and fund a study of water and wastewater infrastructure technology and deployment methods. They say the study could potentially reduce the future costs for installation in neighborhoods that lack central water and wastewater.

“This new approach demonstrates how JEA and the City of Jacksonville can work together to find solutions for long-standing, complex problems,” says JEA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in a statement.

The new agreement also delays the date when the terms of the assessment calculation can be reconsidered. JEA says that date is now Oct. 1, 2022.