Eastman: GRU by the numbers, Part 2

Letter to the editor

In my last article, I talked about GRU’s past and showed how the story some repeat about the General Fund Transfer — a very small part of GRU’s budget — doesn’t explain GRU’s finances. Ironically, no one explained it better than Ed Bielarski himself, which is why I quoted him so often.

Now it’s time to focus on today and where we’re headed. What matters is keeping GRU stable, affordable, and sustainable. To do that, we need to look at the facts — and yes, once again, I’ll be quoting Mr. Bielarski. Not the version we hear now, but the one who for years stood before the City Commission as their most vocal defender, loudly calling Keith Perry and Chuck Clemons “liars” in the same way he now obsessively does with me.

In recent years, Ed has tried to spin a bizarre alternative history where he never did the things everyone saw him very publicly do — all while taking the exact opposite stance on nearly everything.

So, let’s put the myths aside. Here are the facts, backed up with quotes, links, and real numbers.

Claim: The GRU Authority cut the transfer from $38 million to $8.5 million
 Fact: 77% of that cut was done by the Commission

“The City Commission displayed a forward-thinking approach to the budget, and this [2022 debt reduction plan] will provide long-term security to our community. This measured approach stabilizes GRU’s financial health now and in the future, while also supporting renewable energy goals.”
– Ed Bielarski (link)

In 2023, the City Commission adopted one of the most aggressive debt reduction plans of any municipal utility in the country. We committed to paying off more than $300 million in debt by 2033 — a move praised by bond rating agencies, accepted by the State Auditor General, and ultimately adopted by the GRU Authority.

That plan came with real costs: $18 million was cut, 161.5 positions were eliminated, taxes were raised, and City departments absorbed deep cuts. But it worked. Fitch upgraded the City’s bond rating because “the City made material expenditure reductions” as a result.

And this wasn’t new. Starting in 2020, the City Commission — following recommendations from then-General Manager Ed Bielarski — began a series of debt actions, including scaling down the General Fund Transfer. That work helped turn GRU’s finances around in 2021, when it began running a surplus, and was praised by Ed as a result (quote above).

The GRU Authority deserves credit for continuing this path, but let’s be clear — they didn’t create it. They inherited it. Pretending they’re solely responsible dismisses the years of hard work and tough decisions that got us here.

Claim: The City Commission Caused the GRU Authority Cuts
Fact: The GRU Authority Is Responsible for their own Decision-Making

“I also said, looking at Chief Jones to my right, that those GFT reductions, if not made up with property tax increases, would result in his inability to fund his department [Gainesville Police Department], or Chief Lane’s ability to fund his [Gainesville Fire Rescue].” – Ed Bielarski (link)

Ed used to argue — constantly and correctly — that reducing the general fund transfer (GFT) would require raising taxes or cutting essential services like police and fire. That’s why, despite his post-firing rewriting of history, he consistently opposed it.

And yet the GRU Authority has voted to slash the transfer by another $10.3 million next year – on top of the $19 million we voted to cut. The City protected public safety from those cuts, but the cost was a tax increase — exactly the outcome Ed once warned about.

Worse than the result is the process. Under HB 1645, GRU is required to submit a final budget and transfer amount 90 days before the start of the fiscal year to the City. Instead, the Authority has claimed there’s a legal loophole to “amend” their budget on a whim — changing it mid-year and undermining the City’s ability to balance our budget.

The GFT, once a stable payment in lieu of taxes, has become a slush fund GRU withholds at will, while City taxpayers are now covering costs that have nothing to do with them. A few examples:

• The cost of GRU’s private attorneys attending Authority Board Meetings
• The writing of state legislation on GRU’s behalf by expensive lobbying firms
• Rental payments to the County for GRU right-of-way
• Lawsuits against the City of Gainesville

The GRU Authority is doing to City taxpayers exactly what Ed accused the City Commission of after his termination. 

These are the kinds of fiscally irresponsible decisions that got Ed fired and led the COO of GRU to publicly whiCtleblow on Ed’s excessive spending habits in December 2023. So now city services are cut, taxes are up, and GRU hasn’t reduced GRU rates at all. As a matter of fact…

Claim: GRU rates are lower
Fact: GRU rates are higher

In December, the Authority reshuffled the electric rate structure. They lowered tier rates slightly at 1,000 kWh, but raised rates 8.2% above that.

The result? For every $1 saved at 1,000 kWh, a household using 2,500 kWh now pays $2.34 more. That change has made GRU the most expensive municipal utility in Florida at the 2,500 kWh level, but slightly lowered it for 1,000 kWh, which is the only rate Ed cites.

To put it simply: they are robbing Peter to pay Paul — then making a big scene about how great it is for Paul.

Now in the heat of summer many families are seeing higher electric bills as a result. Solar customers have already been hit hard after net metering was scrapped. Water rates are set to rise next year. And GRU is now demanding mid-month “additional deposits” just to keep cash flowing.

Base GRU electric rates — the portion GRU directly controls — are just as high as ever, even as next year they divert another $10.3 million from the city’s taxpayers.

Claim: GRU Customers Outside of City Limits Are Now Being Represented, When They Weren’t Before

Fact: The GRU Authority Doesn’t “Represent” Anyone

“The idea that GRU customer’s in the unincorporated area are being subjected to ‘taxation without representation’ is simply not true. GRU customers are receiving safe, reliable, competitively priced utility services, and the ‘profits’ (which every utility generates) are returned to the owners of the utility, namely the City of Gainesville.“ – Ed Bielarski (link)

Couldn’t have said it better myself, Ed.

There’s nothing in any law that says GRU Authority members “represent” anyone. There’s no election, no accountability to voters, and no mechanism for removal. One member is labeled a “business representative,” but that’s it.

Representation isn’t just about your mailing address. It’s about accountability. And today GRU customers — in both the city and the county — have none.

But Tallahassee does. As former GRU Authority Chair Craig Carter revealed during his resignation speech, his motion to fire Tony Cunningham and hire Ed Bielarski came not because he believed this was best for the utility, but under threat from state officials. If he didn’t give in, “Tallahassee was going to keep coming after Tony until it hurt the whole utility.” Craig Carter called it “one of the most shameful nights of my life.”

That is not community representation. That is political control. And it underscores why local accountability — not distant interference — should guide the future of our community-owned utility.

It’s time to focus on results.

This City Commission has focused on building a stronger, more stable utility. With new professional leadership, we stopped the bond downgrades that became routine under Ed Bielarski. We brought in independent experts to plan affordable power for the future in order to avoid costly mistakes like the biomass plant, or Ed’s failed 2020 FPL privatization deal. We fixed the numerous financial and operational blunders that were created under Ed Bielarski, blunders that have been well documented by senior GRU staff since his firing.

We passed a debt reduction plan praised from Tallahassee to Wall Street — not with slogans or blame or spin, but with steady, practical work that puts ratepayers first.

That’s what it means to have a utility owned by the people it serves. That’s what it means to work for the rate payers — not Tallahassee politicians.

Bryan Eastman, Gainesville City Commissioner

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