JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA Chief Financial Officer Ryan Wannemacher no longer works for the city-owned utility, JEA confirmed to News4Jax on Friday.
According to JEA spokeswoman Gina Kyle, Joe Orfano will take over as interim CFO.
Senior leadership at JEA has come under fire in recent weeks after a controversial bonus program that could have netted top executives hundreds of millions of dollars if the utility was sold came to light. The JEA Board of Directors voted unanimously on Tuesday to end the process of finding potential suitors to purchase JEA.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Wannemacher resigned or if he was terminated.
Wannemacher, part of JEA’s senior leadership team, had been with JEA for nearly five years and had been the CFO since April of 2018.
Wannemacher was responsible for all aspects of JEA’s finances, including treasury, financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, budgeting, insurance risk management, as well as corporate strategy, according to his biography on JEA’s website. He previously worked as the Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at JEA.
Orfano was treasurer at JEA before he was named interim CFO.
Wannemacher’s departure comes on the heels of the high-profile removal of CEO Aaron Zahn and the resignation of JEA’s top legal adviser, Lynne Rhode. JEA board member Andy Allen also resigned on Dec. 2.
Several City Council members are calling for a grand jury investigation of JEA -- on top of an investigation started by the State Attorney’s Office.
