Konish: Craig Carter did not RESIGN from the GRU Authority but should have

Letter to the editor

On June 30, 2024, the Alachua Chronicle posted my letter titled: “Why Craig Carter should immediately resign from the GRU Authority.” 

The original five (5) Governor-Appointed GRU Authority members were to serve staggered terms from one (1) to four (4) years. 

Carter resigned along with all GRU Authority members in order to settle a private nuisance suit over GRU Authority member residency. He was subsequently reappointed to finish another member’s term that expired on 10/1/2024.

Nonetheless, Carter stayed on the Authority past that date, claiming verbal authorization from the Governor’s office. Such a result is nowhere authorized in HB1645. 

On December 3, 2023, a 50-minute discussion took place at the GRU Authority meeting that revealed:

• The “Full Cost Allocation Payment” (FCAP) for GRU IT Services had allegedly been falsified by Cunningham, resulting in a 2024 GRU Service Level Agreement (SLA) loss of $3 million. The GRU Chief Information Officer had refused to sign the GRU IT FCAP Statement. The GRU CFO claimed to be aware of the discrepancy yet accepted the partial payment as full payment. The GRU CFO acknowledged that this SLA loss was not included in the Flow of Funds (and GRU Financial Statements) as required by HB1645.

The full audio and video for this meeting can be viewed at www.whypaygrumore.com.

A member other than Carter made a motion to fire Cunningham for Falsification of An Official Record, which can be criminal. Neither Carter nor any other member seconded the 12/3/2023 motion. 

The falsification of GRU IT FCAP Reports had been detected by the State Auditor General for 2017-2018, and such SLA losses appeared to continue at ever-increasing levels through 2023.

On June 12, 2024, Carter publicly alluded to slow-jamming implementation of HB1645 with the collusion of Cunningham, Lawson, and Nee, and only then threw Cunningham under the bus in an emotive outburst.

In June 2024, there was gridlock on the Authority regarding a proposed complete pause in the GRU Direct Transfer to the City Commission.

Bielarski originally favored such a complete pause in his short stay as an unpaid Authority member but abandoned that position, which could have possibly facilitated the firing of Cunningham. Bielarski currently sits at a $1/3 million annual salary.

In October 2024, Bielarski proposed forgiving the 2024 $3 million IT SLA loss WITHOUT INCLUDING the loss in the Flow of Funds or in the GRU Financial Statement. Carter and the other GRU Authority members agreed unanimously with this.

As a matter of fact, Bielarski currently claims there are no SLA losses, which is not accurate.

The ill-fated Johnson Bill would have deducted all GRU SLA losses from the GRU Direct Transfer to the City. The current $8.5 million GRU Direct Transfer from GRU to the City Commission is not large enough to offset GRU SLA Losses (See Alachua Chronicle November 17, 2024 “Konish: SLAs Hide Transfers of GRU Ratepayer Money to the City”).

Jim Konish, Gainesville

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