Konish: Chuck Clemons is at work

Letter to the editor

Rep. Chuck Clemons and his staff are standing on the shoulders of Sen. Keith Perry and his staff. Accordingly, a totally different GRU governance paradigm is emerging as we become better advised on the premises.

Now that the governor is appointing the GRU authority, unnecessary guardrails that would likely give rise to a constitutional challenge will be removed.

Instead of personally disqualifying all members of either our City or County Commissions since January 2000 from serving on the initial Authority (as a previous bill stipulated), their disastrous groupthink is to be prohibited indefinitely. Clemons’ bill provides, “….consideration of the furtherance of social, political, or ideological interest” shall be disallowed in favor of consideration of “only pecuniary factors and utility best practice standards… which solely further the fiscal and financial benefit of the utility system and customers.”

There is more. Instead of Perry’s weak 3% cap on any reduction of the current and excessive General Fund Transfer (GFT), the latest thinking is that there is instead to be a cap on the maximum “Government Services Contribution (GSC),” equal to “net revenues” less “flow of funds.” All of these new terms in quotes are clearly defined in the bill.

The use of “GSC” in lieu of “GFT” appears aimed at the City’s practice of overcharging GRU for support services. This outrageous taking is on top of the current GFT and optional utility taxes. This is laid out in Finding #3 in the Auditor General’s report. An elected local legislative leader told me that the City has a Bernie Madoff approach to the application of the utility tax on GRU customers. I agree. GRU is not a “piggy bank” – it is a piñata. There appears to be no provision for any minimum GSC for the City’s General Fund. In fact, the GSC is to be prioritized behind other statutorily-mandated considerations as follows: “a reasonable contribution to a utility improvement fund, identified SLA-related losses, and any other lawful purpose as provided in bond covenants.” Any remaining funds “are to go to additional debt service or used as equity in future capital projects”.

The legislature has no choice but to recognize that GRU is no longer local–it is totally beholden to out-of-town bondholders. This irks Chuck Clemons, whose family came to the area in the early 1800s. The new GRU Authority will be empowered to follow the money trails and seek justice for aggrieved GRU ratepayers. There is a standing army of concerned citizens who know where the bones are buried. The City Commission’s failure to fully cooperate with the State of Florida from now on will result in catastrophic consequences for those wrongdoers and the City.

Jim Konish, Gainesville

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