JSEB monitoring committee: participation up, nearly $200M paid to small-business participants in two years
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Summary
The JSEB monitoring committee reported growth in supplier participation and payouts: presenters said the program paid nearly $200 million to JSEB participants over two years, certified JSEBs increased to 551, and FY25 JSEB payments were roughly $86 million. Councilmembers asked follow-up questions about access-to-capital programs and tiering.
Mike Zaffaroni, chair of the JSEB monitoring committee, and Gregory Grant, JSEB administrator, presented the committee’s annual monitoring report to the Finance Committee on March 3.
Grant said the program has grown markedly across the city. “We have experienced 50 to a 150% growth in every single district in Jacksonville,” he said, and later told the committee that over the past two years the city has “paid out nearly $200,000,000 in monies to JSEB participants.” Grant clarified those figures referred to cash deposited into JSEB contractors’ accounts, not awarded contract totals.
Officials said FY25 city spend was about $639 million and that JSEB payments totaled roughly $86 million — about 13.5% of total spend and 8.6% of total contract value. The capital improvement program (CIP) share was reported at about 16.5% against a 20% stated target.
Zaffaroni and Grant highlighted steps to improve reporting and measurement, including automating metrics and expanding certification (the roster of certified JSEBs rose to 551 from about 215). Grant described a range of programs: an access‑to‑capital vehicle that had been a $1 million fund and was largely used (about 30% repaid), plus an additional $1 million access program with $650,000 out on RFP.
Councilmembers asked for more data on how Tier 1 firms graduate to higher tiers and whether prime contractors are mentoring smaller JSEBs; Grant said mentorships have produced successes and officials are building measurement tools. Councilmembers also pressed for data tying JSEB commitments to actual hiring outcomes and noted the office has begun conducting compliance audits on large projects.
A member of the public, Blake Harper, raised a separate funding question about the James Weldon Johnson Park renovation project, asserting the city had lost a $1,000,000 grant and urging the council to address the discrepancy.
The monitoring committee concluded it did not see an immediate need for new legislation, but staff said they would bring legislative recommendations if future reporting or performance metrics indicate gaps.