JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Aviation Authority is preparing to take the City of Jacksonville to court, drafting a lawsuit that accuses the Jacksonville City Council of overstepping its authority, demanding the unlawful diversion of federal airport funds, and attempting to strip JAA of its legal independence.
JAA’s Board of Directors will vote July 16 whether to authorize the filing of a complaint for declaratory judgment. An agenda prepared for the meeting included a copy of the complaint. The lawsuit seeks to define the legal boundary between JAA’s authority as a state agency and the City Council’s power over it.
Background
JAA was created by a special act of the Florida Legislature in 2004 as a separate body politic and political subdivision of the State of Florida — not a department or subsidiary of the City. The authority oversees four public airports in Duval County: Jacksonville International Airport, Cecil Airport and Spaceport, Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport, and Herlong Recreational Airport.
For more than two decades, JAA and the City operated without significant conflict, according to the complaint. JAA is entirely self-funded, generating revenue through landing fees, terminal rents, concessions, and other airport sources. It has never requested a budget appropriation from the City or its taxpayers…