City Council is absolutely correct to begin a deep dive into JEA’s finances.

The City Council auditor has the ability to give these elected leaders answers to key questions:

• Since 2006 did JEA actually raise rates by 71 percent?

If so, why were JEA’s customers not aware of that fact and raising protests with City Council?

• Did JEA actually reduce its workforce by over 400 employees during that same period? With those and other cost reductions, could that explain why bills didn’t skyrocket during that period?

• Is it true that homeowners and businesses were using less electricity during that time? That also would help explain why JEA’s water and electric revenues were flat or at least not growing at historic rates of 3 percent per year.

• Is it true that nine of JEA’s 10 biggest electric users have plans to significantly cut their electric use? Only the city of Jacksonville has no such plans.

If the answers to these questions is “yes,” then that would explain the disconnect between JEA’s statement that it faces existential threats and customer impressions that everything is great.

If these trends continue, meaning more rate increases and more layoffs, JEA predicts rate increases of 52 percent and hundreds of other layoffs.

JEA also says that its contribution to the city will be threatened, meaning that City Council either will have to find other revenue sources or consider JEA’s contribution as what it has always been — an indirect tax increase.

JEA’s current contribution of about $120 million is equivalent to about 2.5 mills in property taxes.

This can be defended. For instance, nonprofit entities like government or houses of worship don’t pay ad valorem taxes but they do pay electric rates, so they help to fund city services.

However, an electric bill is just about the most regressive tax imaginable. Low-income people tend to live in older, drafty, poorly insulated houses that use a lot of electricity.

Their more fortunate neighbors have the ability to spend money on appliances and insulation that save money.

Communications failures

JEA’s communications strategy over the last 10years has been a disaster. Like most other utilities, JEA management was not broadcasting the fact that electric bills were kept stable only because workforce reductions and other expense cuts were taking place.

So the people of Jacksonville are rightly confused about mixed signals.

And JEA has been telling investors not to worry, the utility is in good financial shape.

That’s right, because JEA as an independent authority has the ability to continue to raise rates and cut its workforce. Its finances can remain stable.

But at some point, if this trend continues, the people of Jacksonville will wake up to it.

JEA management has said that the only way to counter the revenue stresses is to find new sources but that means either getting exceptions from restrictions or changing from a government unit.

Changing to an investor-owned utility or a nonprofit like a cooperative is the simplest way to gain entry into new markets.

And that’s why JEA has invited potential suitors to offer purchase proposals. Sometime next year, City Council will be faced with deciding if a purchase is a good decision or at least if the voters should have a chance to weigh in.

The voters of Jacksonville will have the final say.