The Jacksonville Transportation Authority laid off 31 employees in a mid-year budget course correction.
JTA said a month ago the board’s approval of $14.2 million in spending reductions included a 15% pay cut for a swath of senior leadership and the elimination of some administrative positions at the agency which employs about 1,000 people.
Agency spokesman Taniel Koushakjian said March 26 the agency laid off 31 employees as it cut those administrative positions.
He said JTA did not eliminate any jobs on the operations side, and transit riders will not see “any reduction in service whatsoever.” JTA’s biggest ridership is on buses. It also operates the St. Johns River Ferry, the downtown Skyway ,the Connexion and Connexion Plus services, the NAVI autonomous shuttles, and commuter service to St. Johns, Nassau and Clay counties.
Koushakjian said the expense reductions for the rest of the 2025-26 fiscal year will enable the agency to have a balanced budget while also maintaining Connexion Plus that books on-demand trips for passengers who are disabled.
JTA CEO Nat Ford said the agency is closely tracking revenue from the sales tax, gas tax and transit fares for how it matches up with expenses. He said “right now we’re pretty optimistic” on how JTA will close out the budget year at the end of September.
The 88 employees who will see 15% pay cuts include Ford.
“We care about the community and whatever we can do to preserve the affordability of our transit services, I think it’s a worthy sacrifice on our part,” he said after the March 26 board meeting.
The biggest reason for the budget woes is JTA projects it will collect about $11 million less in sales taxes than the budget originally counted on getting.
The downward trend in sales taxes hits JTA particularly hard because sales tax money accounts for more than half the agency’s operating budget.
The budget amendment approved Feb. 26 by the board also increases fares April 2 for the Connexion Plus service but by a smaller amount than originally proposed.
Connexion Plus resembles Uber and Lyft by giving on-demand, door-to-door transportation to people with disabilities. It is an enhanced version of the Connexion service that JTA operates in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Connexion fares are much lower than Connexion Plus but had required riders to book trips at least a day in advance and they share a vehicle with other passengers so the trips often take longer. JTA has started to offer same-day reservations on Connection based on availability of seats that day.
JTA says it also eliminated some professional services contracts, is renegotiating other contracts and bringing some technology services in-house to close the funding shortfall.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Budget woes force 31 layoffs at Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
