Council auditors and multiple city council members on Jan. 7 questioned the administration about purchase orders tied to a protobox hologram placed at Jacksonville International Airport and whether building inspection funds could lawfully pay for the device.

The council auditor’s office told the Finance Committee it had identified purchase orders totaling “about $75,000” tied to a vendor listed as “Univision Technologies,” and that the auditor’s office had asked the administration on Dec. 19 for clarification about what fund would pay the invoices and whether that use would comply with state law. “We sent a series of questions. We're still waiting to get answers,” Kim Taylor, Council Auditor, said. Taylor said the auditors did not see evidence payments had been made yet and that they were waiting for confirmation of the final funding source.

Mike Weinstein, chief of staff for the mayor, described the protobox as part of a multi‑year effort called JAX EPICS to improve permitting and public education on the permitting process. Weinstein said the protobox purchase quoted at about $30,000 covered the physical unit, with additional costs for installation, software, warranty and production bringing the protobox‑related spend to roughly $65,000–$68,000. He also said separate purchase orders appeared for “$7,560 for the hologram avatar creation and studio shoot” and “$1,600 for the wrap.”

Weinstein said the protobox was intended as a public‑education and training tool tied to the in‑house JAX EPICS permitting system and described the airport placement as an early experiment: “The protobox that was put in the airport, was really the first example of this effort.”

Council Members pressed both the auditor and Weinstein on appearance and use. Council Member Rory Diamond asked why the device had been used as an airport greeting rather than for permitting training inside the building inspection division. “A greeting to people visiting Jacksonville does not … fall under any of those categories,” Diamond said. He added concerns about the optics of the device being displayed at the airport while inspection funds were intended for permitting, inspections, training and code enforcement.

Council Member Nick Howland said he did not “buy the argument” that a multi‑language airport kiosk was a trial for a permitting solution and suggested that, if that is the intent, the administration should “recover it from the airport and immediately move it over, and use it as intended.”

Taylor told members that state statute places limits on how building inspection fees may be spent and that the auditor’s office raised the question to ensure the protobox and related costs would comply with those statutory restrictions. The auditor’s office also noted the building inspection fund has a substantial reserve—Taylor cited roughly $24 million in the fund—and that, based on unaudited numbers, the fund “may breach” the statutory cap that limits fund balances relative to operating budget size.

Weinstein said the city had previously moved money from inspection fees to IT for the broader JAX EPICS effort and described the airport protobox as part of a larger, multi‑year investment in permitting modernization. “This was a first attempt at what they have all along anticipated — protoboxes being used for education and training,” Weinstein said.

Committee members requested that the auditors and administration provide the outstanding records and clarify (1) whether purchase orders will be paid from building inspection funds, (2) the full invoiced amounts and purchase‑order trail, and (3) the legal basis for using that fund for the protobox if payments are posted. The auditor offered to forward its questions to the chair at the meeting’s end.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the protobox; the item remained under inquiry by the auditor’s office and the administration at the meeting’s close.