Mayor Donna Deegan signed an executive order on Tuesday encouraging appointees to Jacksonville's city boards, commissions and independent agencies to complete financial training, a move that takes effect immediately and asks the chief executives of independent agencies to formally certify the financial information their organizations submit to the city. The citizen volunteers who sit on these boards oversee billions of dollars in public assets, revenues and obligations, and Deegan says they need better tools to do that job well.
The order directs the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to offer free training within 90 days, according to Action News Jax. The curriculum will cover fiduciary duties, internal and external audits, fraud awareness, internal controls, and state and city ethics rules, along with Florida's Sunshine and public records laws. The CFO's office will also teach appointees how to read financial statements, navigate the city budget process, and spot warning signs tied to bond covenants, credit ratings and pensions.
“Our board members are citizen volunteers who give their time to serve this city, and they deserve every tool we can provide them to do that job well,” Deegan said, per the same outlet's report. She added that “the people” should understand “the budgets, audits and ethics rules in front of them.” The order lands as Deegan presented a proposed $2.026 billion General Fund budget for fiscal year 2026–2027 to the Jacksonville City Council in July, maintaining full municipal reserves without withdrawals for the second consecutive year, according to the City of Jacksonville.
A Gap in State Law
Florida law requires four hours of annual ethics training for constitutional officers, elected municipal officials and community redevelopment agency commissioners, per the Florida Commission on Ethics. Deegan is relying on executive action and plans to work with the City Council to make the training and certification standards permanent through legislation, the station's report notes.
Jacksonville's 19-member City Council, led by Council President Nick Howland, confirms mayoral appointees under the city charter and sets the governing rules for city boards by ordinance. An executive order can encourage compliance among appointees, but permanent mandates require city law — meaning the council will ultimately decide whether these standards become binding. Howland's own conduct drew scrutiny after he flew on a billionaire's jet to a Rays game, a trip that sparked its own ethics debate earlier this year.
Sunshine Law Stakes for Volunteers
The training's emphasis on Sunshine Law compliance carries real legal weight. Under Florida's Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, board members who knowingly participate in unauthorized private meetings about official board business face noncriminal fines up to $500 and potential second-degree misdemeanor charges, according to the Florida Senate.
JTA Budget Pressures
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority faced a projected deficit of $31.8 million by June 30, as reported by Jacksonville Today.
Earlier, a Jacksonville Office of Inspector General report released in December 2025 uncovered policy noncompliance and unverified income issues in public housing programs at the Jacksonville Housing Authority, following a separate audit that found $73,000 in payroll overpayments. The state has also weighed in on Jacksonville's finances more broadly: in January, the Florida Department of Government Efficiency, created by Governor Ron DeSantis, alleged $95 million in excessive municipal spending in Jacksonville, a claim Deegan's administration disputed, according to Florida Politics.
Political Backdrop
Deegan, who became Jacksonville's first female mayor in July 2023, launched her re-election bid in April ahead of the city's March 2027 primary. The executive order arrives as municipal spending and board oversight have become recurring flashpoints in that race, following earlier disputes over Deegan's appointees to the nine-member LIFT JAX grants board and a rival candidate's recent entry into the mayor's race built partly around criticism of city spending.
