Attorneys working to get back $4 million that auditors say firm owes Jacksonville City Hall
City attorneys are working to get back the $4 million they — and auditors — believe is owed to the city by a company that for years oversaw a complex program that helped reduce the cost of replacing wetlands damaged by road and drainage projects.
The money is tied to the city’s wetland mitigation program, in which the city bought thousands of acres of land that were converted into wetlands in order to offset damage to existing wetlands from new construction projects.
Loblolly Mitigation Preserve, the company that oversaw the program, managed the city’s land and arranged sales of the city’s excess credits to private developers.
In September, the City Council Auditor’s Office released a report that said Loblolly wrongly pocketed $2.1 million from sales of excess credits by failing to follow its agreement with the city. The audit also said the company borrowed $927,00 worth of credits from the city that it never paid back and owes the city an additional $1.6 million worth of credits that the city was owed from its purchase of the land but hasn’t received.
Read more: http://jacksonville.com/metro/2016-12-08/attorneys-working-get-back-4-million-auditors-say-firm-owes-city-hall