Bielarski: City’s plan to hold special election to eliminate GRUA is misleading and eliminates the existing limits on the GFT

Letter to the editor

DID YOU KNOW?

On Nov. 4, the City is holding a special election to eliminate the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority (GRUA)

During a special meeting on June 12, the Gainesville City Commission voted without dissent to schedule a special election on Nov. 4, asking voters whether governance of “Gainesville’s Local Public Utilities” should be returned to the city commission.

The ballot reads: 

“SHALL THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE CHARTER BE AMENDED TO
DELETE ARTICLE VII, ELIMINATING THE GOVERNOR-APPOINTED
GAINESVILLE REGIONAL UTILITIES AUTHORITY AND ITS
AUTHORITY-APPOINTED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/GENERAL
MANAGER THAT MANAGE, OPERATE, AND CONTROL THE CITY OF
GAINESVILLE’S LOCAL PUBLIC UTILITIES, SO THAT THE ELECTED
CITY COMMISSION AND ITS CITY COMMISSION-APPOINTED CHARTER
OFFICER HAVE THAT RESPONSIBILITY; AND ELIMINATING
LIMITATIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT SERVICES CONTRIBUTION AND
UTILITY DIRECTIVES, AS PROPOSED BY ORDINANCE NO. 2025-416?”

Key Point #1 – The referendum is brought to the voters despite GRUA being granted a self-executing stay under Florida Statutes. 

More specifically, the City seeks to dissolve the Authority despite an active appeal of the court’s original decision. This is a clear violation of GRUA’s due process appellate rights and a frustration of the rule of law. 

As a result of the City’s actions, which are designed to eliminate the Authority and its ability to continue litigating the matter, a judicial hearing is scheduled for Aug. 7 to clarify what conduct is stayed under the current order.  

Key Point #2 – Once again, the City’s referendum is misleading and intentionally vague. 

On a referendum as consequential as the governance of GRU, the name by which voters know the utility is never mentioned — not one time. In April, Judge George Wight ruled that the referendum language was unclear. The new language is equally obfuscating.   

It reminds me of the late, great comedian George Carlin, who had a routine centered around the usage of aggressive versus passive words to describe two of the country’s most popular sports. Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium; baseball is played on a diamond in the park. The baseball park! Baseball has a seventh inning stretch; football has the two-minute warning. In football you receive a penalty, while in baseball you make an error –- oopsie. The point is, words matter, particularly on a referendum. 

The referendum is riddled with dog whistles and vague terms aimed at inciting or confusing city voters. The “governor-appointed” authority; “control” of the utilities rather than governance or oversight; “local public utilities” rather than GRU.  

At the same time, the City tells the voter that the elected City Commission and its appointed Charter Officer will take the “responsibility,” not governance, of the local public utilities, all the while failing to inform the voter that there is no longer a General Manager of the utility in the charter. Oopsie…

George Carlin couldn’t have set it up any better.

Key Point #3 – From his bully pulpit, despite the aforementioned facts, the Mayor continues telling city voters how evil the Authority is and mischaracterizing the facts. 

At the June 12 meeting, the Mayor accused the Authority of threatening the Commission if they proceeded with the referendum. Of course, he failed to tell the public that the City had already retained its own outside counsel by the time of the vote. He also didn’t mention any of my aforementioned key points. Instead, he proclaimed that “we’ve only now heard a motion to pass it on second reading, but already the lawsuit train is moving, man, and that train never had to get back on the track.” 

Key Point #4 – Buried at the end of the referendum is language ending the existing limitation on the government services contribution. 

The vital reason GRU has successfully paid down tens of millions of dollars of debt and kept electric and gas rates from increasing the past two years is the Authority’s demand for reductions in the government services contribution (also known as the General Fund Transfer).

Without those reductions, utility rates will increase, debt won’t be lowered in accordance with our plan, bond ratings will fall, interest expenses will increase, and GRU will become a less sustainable utility. That’s not my speculation; it’s proven out by previous City Commission actions and current Commission comments, including the $2.5 billion biomass power purchase agreement, onerous solar feed-in-tariffs, the highest electric rates in the state under their governance, and the ever-growing addiction to GRU customers’ money.  

GRU CEO Ed Bielarski, Gainesville

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