City of Jacksonville

Mayor Donna Deegan today signed an executive order that encourages every appointee to a City board, commission, and independent agency to complete training in governance, audits, ethics, and public finance. The order also calls on each independent agency’s chief executive to certify the financial information the agency submits to the City.

The mayor also announced she will work with the Jacksonville City Council to turn these standards into binding requirements through the legislative process. That approach respects the separation of power by acknowledging the Council’s role in confirming appointees and setting the rules that govern the City’s boards and independent agencies.

Volunteers on City boards and independent agency governing bodies oversee billions of dollars in public assets, revenues, and obligations. The added training called for by this executive order aims to give them the tools to do that job well.

“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,” said Mayor Donna Deegan. “Taxpayers deserve confidence that the people overseeing their money understand the budgets, audits, and ethics rules in front of them. This order puts that training within reach today. Working with the City Council, we’ll make these standards permanent through legislation.”

What the Executive Order Does

• Encourages governance and audit training for all appointees. Topics include fiduciary duties, internal and external audits, internal controls and fraud awareness, Florida’s Sunshine and public records laws, and state and City ethics rules.
• Directs the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to offer financial training. Sessions will cover reading financial statements, the City’s budget process, and warning signs such as bond covenant, credit rating, and pension risks. Sessions will be available within 90 days and offered at no cost to appointees.
• Offers entity-specific briefings from the CFO’s office to any board chair who requests one.
• Calls for chief executive certification of financial submissions from independent agencies to the City, so the Mayor, City Council, and Council Auditor can rely on the numbers and spot risks early.

Collaboration with City Council

Under the City Charter, the City Council confirms appointees and sets, by ordinance, the rules that govern City boards and independent agencies. An executive order can direct the mayor’s own departments and encourage appointees, but lasting mandates belong in City law.

The mayor 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.
• Make financial certification binding on independent agencies through Charter, ordinance, or interlocal agreement changes as needed.

The executive order asks the Office of General Counsel to recommend the legal changes needed to make these requirements binding. The Mayor’s Office will share that work with Council as the legislation takes shape. The executive order takes effect immediately.

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View the signed Executive Order 2026-03 (PDF). An accessible HTML version of the order appears below.

Executive Order 2026-03: Board Governance Training and Independent Agency Financial Accountability

October 6, 2026

City of Jacksonville
Office of the Mayor

Executive Order No. 2026-03

Encouraging governance and audit training for appointees to City boards, commissions, and independent agencies; directing the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to offer financial training; and encouraging chief executive certification of financial submissions to the City.

Recitals

WHEREAS, the City of Jacksonville relies on the service of citizen volunteers appointed to boards, commissions, and the governing bodies of independent agencies, who collectively oversee billions of dollars in public assets, revenues, and obligations on behalf of the people of Jacksonville; and

WHEREAS, those appointees hold fiduciary duties to the public and are responsible for approving budgets, overseeing executive leadership, reviewing audits, and safeguarding public resources; and

WHEREAS, effective oversight requires that appointees understand the principles of public-sector governance, the role of internal and external audits, the requirements of Florida's Government in the Sunshine and public records laws, and the ethical obligations of public service; and

WHEREAS, appointees must also be able to read, interpret, and ask informed questions about financial statements, budgets, debt obligations, and the financial relationship between their entity and the City; and

WHEREAS, the independent agencies of the City, transfer revenues to, receive funding from, or otherwise carry financial obligations that directly affect the City's budget and the taxpayers of Jacksonville; and

WHEREAS, timely, consistent, and reliable financial information from independent agencies is essential for the Mayor, the City Council, and the Council Auditor to identify risks early and to make sound budgetary decisions; and

WHEREAS, recommending the chief executive of each independent agency to certify the accuracy and completeness of financial information submitted to the City establishes clear accountability consistent with sound public finance practice; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor, as chief executive officer of the Consolidated City of Jacksonville, is authorized under Section [6.04] of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville to direct the operations of the executive branch and to issue executive orders;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Donna Deegan, Mayor of the City of Jacksonville, by the authority vested in me by the Charter and Ordinance Code of the City of Jacksonville, do hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Governance and Audit Training for Appointees

1.1 Applicability

This Section applies to every person appointed, whether by the Mayor or by another appointing authority, to a board, commission, authority, or governing body of a City agency or independent agency (an "Appointee"), including reappointments made on or after the effective date of this Order.

1.2 Encouraged training

The Mayor strongly encourages each Appointee, when applicable, to complete governance, audit and budget training covering, at a minimum:

1. Fiduciary duties of public board members, including the duties of care, loyalty, and oversight of executive leadership;
2. The role, scope, and use of internal and external audits, including how to receive, question, and act on audit findings and management responses;
3. Internal controls, risk management, and fraud awareness;
4. Florida's Government in the Sunshine Law (Chapter 286, Florida Statutes), Public Records Law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes), and the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees (Part III, Chapter 112, Florida Statutes);
5. The City's Ethics Code and the requirements of the City's Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight; and
6. The legal and financial relationship between the Appointee's entity and the City under the Charter and Ordinance Code.

1.3 Timing

New Appointees are encouraged to complete the training within [90] days of confirmation by the City Council. Appointees serving on the effective date of this Order are encouraged to complete it within [180] days. All Appointees are encouraged to take refresher training every [two] years while serving.

1.4 Delivery

The Office of the Mayor's Boards and Commissions staff, in coordination with the Finance Office, Office of General Counsel, the Office of Ethics, Compliance and Oversight, and the Council Auditor's Office as each may agree, shall develop and deliver the curriculum. Training may be offered in person or online and shall be provided at no cost to Appointees.

1.5 Record of participation

Boards and Commissions staff shall maintain a record of each Appointee's completion and report participation to the Mayor [quarterly]. Participation in the training is voluntary, and completion shall not be a condition of appointment or reappointment.

Section 2. Financial Training by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer

2.1 Directive

The Chief Financial Officer shall develop and deliver financial literacy training and make it available to all Appointees, as a component of or supplement to the training described in Section 1.

2.2 Content

The training shall address, at a minimum:

1. Reading and interpreting governmental and enterprise financial statements, including the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report;
2. The City's budget process, fiscal calendar, and the budget relationship between the City and each independent agency, including any contributions, transfers, or subsidies;
3. Key financial indicators and warning signs that warrant board inquiry, including bond covenants, credit ratings, and pension and other long-term liabilities;

2.3 Schedule

The City's Finance Office shall create the training and make the sessions available within 90 days of the effective date of this Order, and shall offer it at least once per year thereafter. Appointees are encouraged to complete it on the same timeline recommended in Section 1.3.

2.4 Entity-specific briefings

On request of a board chair, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall provide a briefing tailored to that entity's financial position and its obligations to the City.

Section 3. Chief Executive Certification of Financial Submissions

3.1 Recommendation

All financial statements, reports, budgets, and data submitted by an independent agency to the City should be accompanied by a written certification signed by the agency's chief executive officer [and chief financial officer].

3.2 Form of certification

The certification shall state that the signer has reviewed the submission and that, to the best of the signer's knowledge after reasonable inquiry:

1. The submission does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit a material fact necessary to make it not misleading;
2. The financial information fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of the agency for the period covered; and
3. The agency maintains internal controls designed to ensure the reliability of its financial reporting, and any significant deficiency or material weakness known to the signer has been disclosed.

3.3 Template

The Office of General Counsel, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, is requested to prepare a standard certification form within [60] days of the effective date of this Order.

3.4 Incomplete submissions

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall treat any submission lacking the required certification as incomplete, shall notify the agency in writing, and shall report any unresolved deficiency to the Mayor and to the agency's board chair.

Section 4. Implementation and Cooperation

4.1

The Chief Administrative Officer shall oversee implementation of this Order and shall report to the Mayor on progress within [180] days of its effective date.

4.2

All City departments and offices under the Mayor's authority shall cooperate fully in carrying out this Order.

4.3

The Mayor requests the cooperation of each independent agency, its board, and its chief executive officer in meeting the requirements of this Order, and directs the Office of General Counsel to recommend any Charter, Ordinance Code, or interlocal agreement amendments needed to make the requirements of Sections 3 and 4 binding on independent agencies.

Section 5. Construction and Severability

5.1

This Order shall be construed consistently with the Charter and Ordinance Code of the City of Jacksonville and with Florida law. Nothing in this Order shall be construed to impair the statutory or Charter authority of any independent agency or its governing body.

5.2

This Order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the City, its agencies, officers, or employees.

5.3

If any provision of this Order is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Section 6. Effective Date

This Order shall take effect immediately upon signature and shall remain in effect until amended or rescinded.

DONE AND ORDERED in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, this 6th day of October, 2026.

Donna Deegan, Mayor
City of Jacksonville

ATTEST:
Corporation Secretary
City of Jacksonville

Approved as to form:
Office of General Counsel