Konish: Critical remedial action required by HB1645 remains thwarted
Letter to the editor
HB1645 reads: “Section 7.02 Definitions. (6) “Flow of Funds” means the sum of required debt service, necessary operations and management expenses, a reasonable contribution to a utility plan improvement fund, IDENTIFIED SLA-RELATED LOSSES, and any other lawful purpose as provided in bond covenants. (emphasis added)
“(11) Service-level agreement” or “SLA” means a contract entered into by the Authority that establishes a set of deliverables that one party has agreed to provide another.”
While there is much attention paid to the “Direct Transfer” (General Fund Transfer) from GRU to the City, GRU SLA losses suffered by GRU ratepayers constitute an “Indirect Transfer” from GRU to the City that IS NOT REFLECTED ON THE GRU FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
GRU SLA losses on IT, streetlights, and the City Attorney funding ALONE are around $5 million annually (see also Finding 3 of Auditor General City of Gainesville Report). Moreover, there is no consideration of the largest of all the elephants in the room – the imminent retirement of 51.3% of GRU generating capacity by 2032 (beginning in 2027- 4 plants). We are without a plan to meet local electrical needs at the end of this decade.
Assuming the GRU Authority approves the contract on their August 7 agenda, Mr. Bielarski has secured a salary of 1/3 of a million dollars annually. He needs to do the heavy lift and address SLA losses. This will facilitate targeted rate relief. Gimmicks like diluting ratepayer relief with ten-year paybacks without interest will not suffice.
The Authority is in violation of 7.07(4), which provides, “The Authority shall meet AT LEAST once each month, except in case of unforeseen circumstances.” (emphasis added)
By not even showing up for work between June 26 and August 7, the “Authority” remains thwarted by a rogue and dangerous City Commission.
Jim Konish, Gainesville
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According to a Gainesville Sun article today, Belarski is getting an approximately $30k salary increase over the previous head of GRU and somehow managed to get per diem pay for a preplanned vacation of 3 weeks which he is taking before even starting his new gig.
WTH?
Nice work if you can get it…
Unfortunately, that’s typical of most politicians; see Poe, Hayes – (I can’t make up my mind) Santos, and Simon are but a few others who took advantage of taxpayers. Granted the prior Mayor and Commissioner didn’t get a “raise” but somebody funded that Middle East trip besides them.
Nice “what about” post, You voted. And yeah, what about Hitler!
Belarski is new to the job and starts with a raise over what the previous guy was making and BTW, a 3 week vacation to start? And this from an “authority” made up of GOP donors? These guys sound as good at making deals as “Bankrupt Donald J.”.
You’re right, I did vote.
Didn’t vote for this group of idiots though. I did for one, Book. Thought he was a book of a different color but I was wrong.
Don’t support their $0€i@li$t ideologies either. Just think, if more Gainesville voters didn’t , probably wouldn’t be in the predicament we’re in.
We should pitch in and send them all to Iran next month!
I was able to take a vacation only 3 weeks after starting a new job in 2007 because I worked it out with my employer during the hiring process. I don’t think that is unheard of at all. As for the 30K increase, inflation, and the fact that he is now dealing with more issues than when he was unfairly terminated by the GCC.
Everyone had high hopes and expectations for this board.
Unfortunately, with Carter, Lawson, and the deadlocked. votes absolutely nothing meaningful has been accomplished in nearly a year except obstructing, delay, and more same of the status quo reflecting the cumulative effect of poor decision making.
Now we’re back to the Ed show with an unwarranted higher salary.
One can’t help but wonder how this group ever achieved a level of personal success.
Chances are it was on the backs of someone else’s labors.
BINGO!
For one reason or another, the GRU Authority has run on the majority of the time with four members, two of which seem to be ‘can’t doers’ while the others are ‘can doers’ but are always stymied. I wonder if they could even get together on a letter to the governor to appoint the fifth member. The main problem seems to be that anyone smart enough to help the situation and volunteer, is smart enough to avoid this poisonous political morass of the local Democrats.
…. and meanwhile I keep the thermostat set at 85, live in a house that was built in 2008, has dbl pane insulated windows, have the hvac serviced twice a yr .. just to make sure it’s “working properly” and my bill keeps going up while the people that SHOULD be running that clip joint can afford to eat at Spurriers several times a month and “be seen” too say I’m marginally pissed after receiving my GRU bill yesterday which is now up to 238.10. No pool folks, no sprinkler system, no children taking showers everyday, no big piles of laundry 3-4 times a week just one pissed off old lady everytime the elec bill comes … while THEY enjoy their freaking vacations. Did I miss anything? Oh house size 1200 sq ft we ain’t talking mansion here !!!
Understood, Older.
One thing to do is check your attic space to make sure your contractor PROPERLY insulated it. That’s one place a cheat likes to use to shortchange the customer.
Unfortunately for you it’s too late but, anyone else reading this and who is thinking about building a house should build using an insulated slab. Great savings all year and doesn’t cost that much.
Should have it all checked Dazed, but if the house was built in 2008, it was under a pretty restrictive state codes. Unless the inspector was rushed and overlooked items , the minimum requirements were significant (probably R-30 attic unless spray foam). Cutting back on attic insulation by the builder would be risky if batts – clearly marked and exposed at inspection – and too cheap to make sense cutting back on if blow in (about $.50 a sq ft.).
Insulating everything and anything is of course advised, but heat loss and gain at slab edges is very minimal here, which is why it’s not required in an otherwise restrictive code. Our temp differentials are maybe 20 deg max (outside vs inside temp) in our main season (summer). In Minnesota it’s more like 50-60 degrees during theirs (winter).
Agreed, risky to cheat but some of them will try it, was just suggesting some quick and dirty courses of action to start trouble shooting.
Of course another thing we don’t usually think of is the fact that night time temps are NOT cooling down like they use to which keeps pumping heat into the house as well.
I’ve been meaning to look up DoD’s research on insulated slabs, they’re required items now in their building codes for all structures intended for occupation. I’ve noticed in my former home the entire slab would get hot/cold, not just the edges. HVAC thermostat was centrally located. In the winter I could take a reading on the floor and then 5 ft up on top of the thermostat and get a difference of between 5 and 7 degrees.
Something not right there older. Maybe have GRU do a home survey for you. It’s free.
https://www.gru.com/My-Home/Lower-My-Bill/Save-Energy/Energy-and-Water-Surveys
Obvious starting point… the plants are “due” to be retired in 2027; could one or more of them be renovated instead and what would the comparative ROI be?
Jim, what do you recommend for GRU’s future as a generating utility only? The rest like lightpost fees, water-sewer, GRUNet, are more like icing on the cake.
Agree with Mr Konish on this, that’s the way it’s written…Bielarski probably not worried much on the loss of future plants, he can always just retire or facilitate fire sale to FPL.
Easy solution to meet energy needs is to just buy it from Duke. They sell it for less than it seems GRU can produce it for.