City Commission instructs staff to move forward with transition to GRU Authority, launch education campaign, continue with lawsuit
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the July 27 General Policy Committee (GPC) meeting, the Gainesville City Commission discussed a proposal by Commissioner Bryan Eastman to specify tasks the City needs to undertake as part of a transition to a governor-appointed Authority that is slated to begin governing Gainesville Regional Utilities in October 2023.
Mayor Harvey Ward said he wants to continue to have a discussion item about the GRU transition on GPC agendas through the end of September “as a placeholder… just in case we need to do things… I want the public to understand I’m not talking about, you know, putting our fists up when it comes to this, but there may be procedural issues that need to have action taken. Now, if somebody wants to put their fists up as well, then that’s a different thing.”
Eastman said he put a picture of Governor DeSantis on the title page of his presentation “because that is the man who now controls Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority, not because I felt like throwing my fists up.”
Eastman said the lawsuit filed last Friday by the City “does a very good job of explaining all of the issues with the [Authority], things we’ve talked about here numerous times related to how this impacts our funds, how this takes away a lot of the rights of a lot of our residents.” He said his purpose was to “send very clear direction to City staff… that while we are opposed to this, and we will continue to hold the GRU Authority accountable and will continue to press forward in litigation… And my intention is to make sure that we are transitioning as seamlessly as possible because that is what is now in our Charter until a court comes out and says something differently.”
Eastman recommended asking staff to negotiate Service Level Agreements on services shared between General Government (GG) and GRU, review and update over 40 ordinances that enable “the General Manager or his/her designee” to authorize City action, educate the public on the transition, and continue to seek declaratory relief.
In response to a section of Eastman’s presentation titled “Creating stability at GRU,” GRU General Manager Tony Cunningham said what GRU is focusing on “is maybe a little different than what was stated on the previous slide. I think we’re maintaining the stability of the utility. The utility is stable. We are operating; we are serving our customers each and every moment.
Shared services between GRU and General Government
Cunningham said staff had identified over 32 ways that GRU and GG are intertwined, including payroll, the fleet, Human Resources, and Information Technology (IT). He said that GG and GRU already have cost allocation plans for paying for those services, and they are focusing on further documentation of that.
City Manager Cynthia Curry said that the pension obligation bond and Equity and Inclusion Department are additional examples of shared services between GG and GRU and IT is one of the biggest areas–in that case, GRU provides those services to GG. She said her goal is for all the Charter Officers to sit down with the Finance Director and City consultants in the next week or so to understand all of the cost allocation plans.
Education about changes in the utility’s governing body
Eastman said his recommendation for education is intended to inform GRU customers that the City Commission is no longer the body that makes “changes within their utility… For over 100 years, Gainesville Regional Utilities customers have had the ability to speak directly to the people that make changes within their utility. And they can still do that, but there’s no direct accountability; that all goes through the Governor at this point.” He recommended putting notices on the City and GRU websites, notifying residents about the change in governance, and changing the branding of GRU to state that it is “Governed by GRU Authority.” He also favored letting GRU customers know that the City is seeking declaratory relief.
Update on the lawsuit
City Attorney Daniel Nee said the lawsuit has now received a case number (37-2023-CA-001928), and a judge (Judge Angela Dempsey) has been assigned. He said he hopes that a hearing on the City’s Motion for Temporary Relief will be “forthcoming expeditiously, within weeks–nothing happens that fast, but that’s really as fast as possible.”
Motion from Eastman
Eastman made a motion to implement the recommendations on the slide below, and Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut seconded the motion.
Cunningham: Not much will change for customers
Commissioner Ed Book wondered whether it was wise to launch an education campaign while the City is involved in litigation on the issue, and Cunningham said he thought of it in terms of how the transition will affect the customer: “Nothing is really going to change as we transition into a new board. They’re still going to pay the bills the same way; you’re still going to receive service the same way.” He said GRU could put information on its website about the status of the bill and, when the Authority starts meeting, publish meeting notices. Eastman agreed that his motion referred to “fairly simple things like that,” but the main change is “when push comes to shove, where do you finally go, and it will not be to your locally elected representatives; it will be to a board that is appointed by the Governor.”
Timeline for the lawsuit
Book asked Nee about the timeline for the lawsuit, and Nee said, “This sort of timeline is completely out of our hands. We will seek an expedited hearing and seek to have judicial intervention as soon as possible. No one likes uncertainty; that’s not good for anyone involved in this process.” He said he hoped a hearing could be scheduled in six to eight weeks, but “I think this was a very robust legislative session, and I think there are a tremendous number of challenges to legislation that came out of this session, both in state and federal courts.” He said that challenges to legislation must be filed in the 2nd Circuit and the Tallahassee Division because of “home venue privilege” in cases against State entities, so the volume of cases may delay any hearings.
“Not just customers but owners”
Commissioner Casey Willits said he thought education should focus on not just customers but owners: “I want owners to know that their ability to control their utility through local, close-to-them government, where they can run into their board at Publix has been changed.” Authority members, however, are required to be local residents who are GRU customers and qualified Gainesville electors, except for the one county resident, so residents may also encounter them in Publix.
Willits said if people have complaints, “They need to complain to the Authority and the person who appoints the Authority, of course, is the Governor, so also to the Governor… [Also] owners… need to be educated that the structure of their City, their rights as owners, and really their experience as a voter in the democracy that was Gainesville, it’s been changed. And I don’t think it’s a small thing. The State pushed something into our Charter, and they didn’t get a vote on it–which, the nature of a Charter is, like, it is the people who have decided to form this government.”
“Explain to people that the utility is good”
Mayor Harvey Ward said he thought an educational campaign would be useful because “it helps keep us all on message… We have the version that we can point to and say, ‘Thank you for asking’… I can hand you a sheet, I can send you to the website where it explains it more fully.”
Ward said he also supported “a campaign to explain to people that the utility is good and the services we offer continue to be stellar. We win awards for this–the services that we offer on behalf of our owners to the customers, often the same people, have been fantastic… I think it’s useful to make that case.”
Eastman’s motion passed unanimously, with Commissioner Reina Saco voting remotely.
Eastman, being 1/4 of any other man, failed to acknowledge it’s not supposed to be “their” funds, it’s supposed to be our funds. Not used for their progressive ideological BS but for the enhancement, preservation and services provided to the people of Gainesville. ALL people. Eastman comes into office and seems to know exactly which teat to suck on. I guess Poe must have taught him in school.
Ironic, most the comments refer to the Gainesville residents as “owners” but we haven’t had any ownership in GRU in years, Willets the Weasel isn’t smart enough or old enough to know that. The only true thing he said about GRU is that it’s good. What he didn’t say is that those controlling it – are bad.
You Democrats, you people are such gullible idiots.
Once again these radical agenda DEC liberals falsely state the facts and express displeasure over any loss of control. They fail to acknowledge the for “over 15 years” the radical DEC commissioners (Harrahan, Poe, Hinson, hyphen-Hayes, Wells, others) made a made a series of horrible decisions that led to this fiscal disaster! For most of the “over 100 years” things ran well with good decisions made that supported GRU and the citizens. Not since LBJ + radicalism has this once fine utility and city been RUINED! Lesson learned: Do NOT elect democrats!
Eastman being 1/4 the man he should be, failed to acknowledge it’s not supposed to be “their” funds, it’s supposed to be “our” funds. Used for the betterment of the community, not for lining their pockets and pursuing their far-left progressive ideologies.
Ward being the “🤭,” man he is, once again asked someone else to put up “their fists” to fight a fight he’s afraid of. No wonder he’s been hiding behind a skirt for the better part of 3 years.
While Ward made a statement proclaiming “GRU to be good,” he failed to mention it’s the leadership that is bad…very bad. They brought it to this, it’s on them regardless who these Democrats choose to blame.
You Democrat voters, you’re as much to blame as they are. You voted for them, you’ve continued to enable them. Time to stop being so gullible.
You are correct.
Your piggy bank is gone. Accept it responsibly, make changes and move forward. No amount of propaganda will make a difference. Almost every word that comes out of the commissions mouth is deceptive…all credibility is gone. Even regular folks who voted for “someone new” like Book now realize he’s just another ratty ass Gville politician like the others.
So why the lawsuit?…because these public servants are currently
only serving the bond holders that they’re beholden to. Can’t believe some voters still believe these grifting city puppets care for anything local. We’ve long been sold out!
The old adage, “You can’t judge a Book by it’s cover,” is pretty evident. He sure fooled, or made fools, of most his supporters. Yes, I was one. Won’t make that mistake again – time to close that Book next election.
It certainly appears that way.
And Willits is the John Fetterman of Gainesville
It’s not their money they’re wasting. They just want their power back.
Why are they wasting our tax money on a lawsuit? . It can’t be stopped. The utility authority will happen. What a bunch of A-holes.
It is not tax money they are using. They are funding their temper tantrum with GRU customer money.
If you recall (Pegeen was mayor), the commission hired an independent consultant to study GRU’s long range energy plan and report back to the commission. The study cost a bit over 250K…..the consultant studied the plan and reported back to the commission it was an excellent plan. NOT what they wanted to hear so they ignored it. They are REAL good at spending someone else’s money.
Wanting things both ways is a basic Democrat plank. It helps employ more staff and lawyers — for awhile.
I can’t stop laughing. Here they are talking about direct representation (by the local politicians), when the inept Commission ignores the will of the people, and has for years. We are also finding out (accidentally) how the city misuses other facets of the UTILITY at no cost to the city. And they still continue to deny 40% of the customer base a right to representation.
I can’t recall of a single instance where a city commissioner expressed the slightest concern about the interests of the 40%. It will be great to see a full accounting for the ways the city has been subsidizing its operations by shifting costs to GRU in addition to the general fund transfer.
So let’s just go ahead and make like nuthin ever happened and we still own the cash cow.
Ward and his merry clan of fruitcakes are in for a serious a@# whuppin from the courts if he doesn’t get his head out of his rectum.
One can only imagine how much dumber the commission can get in relation to the GRU debacle.
I have never seen a more petulant group of people in my life. Typical democrat ideology. Fail, fail big, then try to shift the blame and the public sentiment to someone else. Anyone else, as long as the torches and pitchforks arent coming for them.
They don’t even pretend to try to do the jobs they were elected to do–every meeting all they talk about is how to spread propaganda to make themselves look better so they can be reelected…to once again do nothing.
These smoothbrains on the GCC need to worry about fixing the roads and getting a handle on the out of control homeless situation before we become San Francisco.
I have no words to express how terrible these commissars are.
How is Waco Saco able to vote remotely??
Either get back to her job, take a leave of absence, or better yet resign!
so now they are planning to spend 250000+++ (all that other stuff isn’t free of cost) when they are in the black on trying to fight their piggybank being taken away. (and their “Education” talk is a joke.. they just can’t say brainwashing attempt.
Harvey your stupity is endless!!
Harvey said….”I want the public to understand I’m not talking about, you know, putting our fists up when it comes to this”. Whew….good to hear there won’t be any ‘fisting’ going on during the city commission meeting.
That’s those “backdoor” meetings.🤣
“[T]here’s no direct accountability” (now that the State has taken control of GRU away from GCC), according to Bryan Eastman.
There never was any accountability–that’s why the grownups took control away from these spoiled brats on the Gainesville City Commission.
Gainesville City Commissioner Bryan Eastman is the living embodiment of pure political sleaze, and I hope his friends and family come to understand how much he is despised in this town.
Unfortunately I doubt his family will knock any sense in to him. His wife is also an entrenched bureaucrat – a GS-13 level federal employee with a job title of Urban Agriculture Specialist, USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. Is anyone still curious where the attempted mandate for business compost came from? People like Bryan and his wife are dead set on achieving their ‘utopia’, no matter the casualties. Politically motivated ideologues like them will not cease with their attempt to impose a nightmare future with a central government overseeing all of us. Sound crazy right?!…too bad it’s happening right here and we can witness the top down push to implement global policies while attempting to marginalize any sane citizens.
His friends & family will never understand. Can’t teach stupid.
Let anyone “put up their fists.” They’ll end up in jail for breaking state law.
Make no mistake – the meeting and vote was all cya to get on the record for legal purposes.
They all know that if they impede the transition in any way (publicly), the Governor is going to have cause for a quick removal.
The city has been quietly “educating” citizens on this issue for months now. The person known as Jazzman has consistently posted misinformation, or propaganda, on nearly every article that deals with GRU and other state-related issues. Jazzman went radio silent once the lawsuit was filed because they are a party to suit in some capacity (as related to the plaintiff corporation know as the City of Gainesville, Florida). The city’s attempt to politicize this issue into a red team / blue team issue failed miserably…this issue has to do with local mismanagement and possibly major fraud…it isn’t due to some evil state reps or a back door deal that the governor is plotting.
I’m actually surprised how many Democrats are supporting the bill. I didn’t see that coming… many are fed up.
There’s still a few who like being fed.
They’ll be here soon with the normal talking points about dark money, not being able to win an election and stealing the property from city residents. They’re probably busy with those backdoor fisting strategy meetings.
Saying “GRU is good” makes a nice bumper sticker, but who’s on the hook to pay for new power plants or turbines coming up soon? While still paying off the biomass $2.5 billion loan?
Residents of Gainesville. Look for the “Special Assessment” fees…they should just label it the “Special Stickit Upyourasses” fee.
This out of control, out of mind Commissioners still does not get it. We are not as stupid as they are and need no propaganda. What about “Your Fired” do they not understand. Is the next step total removal from office?
Still, an inept and out of control City Comm! Tax rates will rise to the maximum every year regardless to make up some of the lost GRU piggy bank. More people will move out of city limits, the east/west racial divide (one of the largest in the south) will worsen until finally the CCOM swings conservative (away from radical DEC dem lib spend-a-holics) or property values will drop due to vacancies and even more rampant crime, on west side too. Hanrahan, Poe, Hayes-fake-minority-santos the worst pubic servants ever elected in Alachua County – complete failures.
I’ve always been amazed at how segregated Gainesville is too. The east side is becoming even more cutoff due to the ongoing constrictive roadwork in the city.
Thanks for the callout Slice, but i have not been silent on this issue – see responses to Bielarski among others – and the principles of the issue – which all the usual magpies here thoroughly miss, or avoid, is the theft of citizen control of their property in another hostile takeover by our own Napoleon in Tallahassee. If you or anyone here wants to directly address me on any of my points, bring it. But of course that is rare with you MAGA zombies who prefer cheering each other on in your tribal nonsense, partisan attacks, and ignorant group think. Principles of democracy and citizens controlling their government don’t mean anything to you if the GOP is doing the squashing of those principles, and the DeSantis version in Tallahassee is doing that over and over again, with local henchmen Clemons and Perry stabbing Gainesville and Alachua County in the back to benefit the GOP, their real constituency.
Those wishing to discuss facts, let’s start with Perry secretly and illegally taking $100k from FPL for a campaign. Guess they just liked his beard and don’t expect anything in return!
I’m glad they approved you to continue posting your copy and paste messages. Best of luck with the re-education campaign but I’m afraid your agenda is too transparent. Also, I’m not a Rep or a Dem…not everyone who disagrees with you is a ‘MAGA zombie’ as you insinuated. Good luck flipping this issue into a partisan war as you’re trying to do.
Also – you often comment on Perry’s supposed secret and illegal dark money contributions. If true, I would absolutely agree with you and he should be removed. However, the problem for me is that I’ve seen zero evidence of illegal money tied to him…Was a lawsuit ever filed? That’s not to say it doesn’t exist – I don’t know – but a little proof would go a long way in solidifying your argument. Otherwise it just sounds like partisan conjecture every time you repeat it.
Enjoy:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article264196761.html?fbclid=IwAR1_CHHCfoDG81ukNYO2SwpWpwbk-kqIyHefZ6NL-iKWhLFOu5Xrr3Kk4a4
I’m not paying to get past the paywall to read that article.
We’ve read that book over and over. Maybe you and Book are related?
Wipe your face.
Azz Man is going thru a rough time . We should not lash out at him and call him names even that how he rolls. Although he sounds like a broken record and repetitive I don’t think its dementia . I think he is still working thru his 6 stages of denial.
The problem is he has been stuck on stage 2 every since his lowlife heroes of the City Government were fired.
Stage 1 – Denial. …
Stage 2 – Anger. …
Stage 3 – Bargaining. …
Stage 4 – Depression. …
Stage 5 – Acceptance. …
Stage 6 – Meaning. …
Final Thoughts on Managing Grief
He and the fired Mayor and City Commission are in for a cold winter.
As I have explained numerous times, I don’t vote in city elections. If I did, I’m pretty sure I would not have voted for all of them, or even most. I would hope serious adults would understand a greater principle – which is not hard to grasp – is at issue with this hostile takeover, and unlike most of you, I don’t count on Daddy in Tally to get me what i wished for for Xmas.
Carry on.
We are. Bray on!
Jennifer, you wrote:
“Commissioner Casey Willits said he thought education should focus on not just customers but owners: “I want owners to know that their ability to control their utility through local, close-to-them government, where they can run into their board at Publix has been changed.” Authority members, however, are required to be local residents who are GRU customers and qualified Gainesville electors, except for the one county resident, so residents may also encounter them in Publix.”
As if it’s the same thing when a citizens runs into an elected representative in Publix instead of whatever political hacks the governor appoints and who will be the only one they need to answer to. Yes, they both might be in Publix, but that’s clearly not what Willits meant.
I’m sure we’re all hanging on what Willits REALLY meant.
True, as with any commissioner – they’ve all betrayed our trust for years now. How/why should we believe anything they’re telling us? We know one person that does. Jazzman, he’s like Mikey, he believes anything.
Uh dude, what Willits said does not require belief. It’s a statement of fact which clearly implies that which Jennifer failed to note her otherwise solid reporting.
It’s called logic! Try it!
Uh dudette, can’t reason with crazy… that’s a fact.
They can’t, nor do they comprehend logic. You’re proof of that.
I already explained it to you Peabody, and it is obvious.
I used to see Poe in the grocery store. Not only did he always seem not at all receptive to taking with anyone, he seemed afraid and like he was on the run from some imaginary assailant, including hopping in his car and speeding through the Publix parking lot faster than would be advisable. Willits isn’t exactly the Victor Davis Hanson of Gainesville. Count me in the “he seems like he’s a couple beers short of a six-pack” camp. Hopefully the board will be composed of people who are not paranoid and delusional. I’ve also seen Chestnut at the store multiple times. While she is not unapproachable, she definitely doesn’t give off the “come and talk to me!’ vibe.
So, you’d prefer Gainesville commissioners explain their positions in the context of the Peloponnesian War?
I’d prefer them all to be fired at this point. Let the state step in and fix the broken city. Then you’d really have a nervous breakdown.
Folks in East Gainesville quite often run into their politicians at that there Publix east of Waldo Road.
John Fetterman-Willits doesn’t even know what he meant. Plus, who engages in politics while grocery shopping? Y’all are living in another reality. And it’s rich for a political hack like yourself to call future, unknown appointees political hacks.
Well, they certainly try their best not to engage us at the City Commission. Wouldn’t want those conversations in the public record I suppose.
Under Florida’s Sunshine law, officials may discuss pending official business in private with members of the public. Not so, with other officials.
You missed my point. Off the record conversations and comments aren’t the same as when a citizen goes to a public forum and the responses and promises made by an elected official are in the public record. Plus it’s a lot easier to bs someone when no one else is around to hear the conversation.
All valid points Fred, but irrelevant to the difference between leaders elected by the people they might bump into at Publix vs leaders appointed by Napoleon in Tally, and who will be unanswerable to anyone else.
Nobody cares. We go to Publix to shop, and that’s all.
I’m sure whoever is appointed to the new board probably shops at a local grocery store too. Didn’t you read the part that all members have to be GRU ratepayers. That would exclude someone who lives in Tallahassee.
Fred. What don’t you get about the difference between leaders who are elected by the citizens of Gainesville and leaders who will be appointed by a guy in Tally who never comes here and hates the place?
Maybe they’ll shut down the biomass plant, cut the budget to the bone, get rid of all the DEI con job people, and ultimately lower rates in the near future – unlike the dysfunctional tards we have now who can’t even restore the open container law.
I’m still waiting for these leaders elected by the citizens of Gainesville. seems like most are elected by the students. not many that I have voted for as a citizen of Gainesville.
Stop trying to misuse city services to push a political agenda. Ratepayers do not give a rat’s you-know-what as long as they’re not subsidizing crazy policy pushed by an inept group of commissioners! The city caused all of this to happen with it’s never-ending babble about paper straws, untenable energy policy, ice skating rinks in the middle of downtown, driverless buses, and a ridiculous streetery project that never happened.