Action News Jax has learned that the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the legal arm of Jacksonville’s consolidated government, double-billed Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) for over $334,000 in legal fees – an error that was only discovered following an internal audit by the school district.
The billing discrepancy includes $290,000 in legal services and $44,000 in charges from the Risk Management Department, with the double billing beginning in December 2024. According to documents obtained by Action News Jax Ben Becker, DCPS notified the OGC of the issue in June, and the OGC acknowledged the mistake. General Counsel Michael Fackler said his office failed to “clear out” previous billing.
The revelation comes at a critical time. The Duval County School Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a pivotal resolution that would allow the district to hire its own in-house legal counsel – setting the stage to end a long-standing arrangement with the city’s OGC.
If the School Board approves the measure, it will move to City Council for consideration. The proposed change requires an amendment to the city charter, which would also need approval by the Florida Legislature – a process that could take up to a year…