City Council approves $30M gas tax loan to stop JTA ‘death spiral’

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority can borrow up to $30 million from the city’s local option gas tax revenue toward addressing its $39 million budget shortfall, the Jacksonville City Council voted Tuesday. In a unanimous vote, the council passed emergency legislation to approve a no-interest loan for JTA to pay off debt and be able to adhere to its $139 million operating budget for the year. It will need to repay the city by 2037. The concession by the council and the mayor’s office comes less than a month after JTA officials announced 194 layoffs, cuts and reductions in fixed-route bus services, and an upcoming pause to the Skyway elevated people mover and the NAVI autonomous shuttle service Downtown. Ordinance 2026-0780 amends the city’s agreement with JTA, approved in 2021, that put the agency in charge of spending an estimated $479 million in local option gas tax dollars on transportation projects. The votes to give JTA an interest-free loan was unanimous on Tue