Konish: Hutch, Ward, and others seek to destroy GRU to make sure GRU Authority fails
Letter to the editor
Our City (Commission) Attorney–hired, fired, and paid by our disgraced City Commission of one stripe, has fooled our new GRU Authority into calling into question the legality of its own brand-new existence at GRU ratepayer expense.
Oblivious to the obvious conflict of interest, our City Attorney brought in Holland & Knight to file only the eleventh Bond Validation Proceeding in Florida history – at GRU ratepayer expense!
Having failed miserably with Judge Dempsey, and surely feeling the expense of the private nuisance lawsuits, Ward and Hutch (and the others filing and contributing funds to the lawsuits) would rather continue their legal attacks on our new Authority at GRU ratepayer expense. It is noteworthy that the City’s Holland & Knight bond counsel billings have already caught the attention of the State of Florida Auditor General.
Every statement made since 2015 by the perpetrators of the current GRU financial debacle about an honest legislative effort to reform GRU governance has been false.
Unapologetic about his own complicity with the accrual of our massive GRU debt, Hutch has penned a letter to the Iguana (Nov./Dec. 2023; Vol. 32, Issue 11/12/- page two, titled, “GRU takeover: It’s getting real”). With no apparent expertise, documentation, or shame, Hutch has proclaimed: “over the years, GRU [sic – our City Commission] has created one of the most complicated financial portfolios, with a bewildering array of short and long term debt. Almost every day, large amounts of it roll over, and the companies that provide assurances to institutional investors are showing signs of concern.” This is hyperbole.
Hutch neglects to mention a few important facts:
- HB1645 is remedial legislation designed to protect the public interest, thus must be liberally construed.
- HB1645 is presumed to be constitutional.
- Judge Dempsey’s “omnibus” order is the law of the case and held that only the Authority can challenge the constitutionality of HB1645. GRU has already paid $250,000 of the $500,000 that went to Akerman to help the City file a legal challenge found to be devoid of merit.
- A simple glitch bill can immediately nullify or gut the four (4) private nuisance lawsuits currently filed and funded by Ward, Hutch, et al. This would obviate the need for bond “validation.”
Our mayor and current GRU GM have been asked to resign and are to be investigated for ongoing waste and abuse. Why on earth would our Authority ask GRU ratepayers to fund elective, risky legal proceedings that call into question its own legal viability, which has now firmly established?
We need an immediate expanded state investigation into the following matters:
- The refusal of the Gainesville City Commission to effectuate an orderly transition of control of GRU to the Governor-appointed Authority as required by the City of Gainesville Charter since 7/1/23.
- The relationship between our elected officials, their City Attorney, and the citizens filing the private nuisance suits.
- All circumstances surrounding the GRU Biomass Electric Plant PPA and buyout.
- The Solar Feed-in Tariff.
Let the City Commission and/or Ward, Hutch, et al. pay Holland & Knight to file the $200,000 Bond Validation Proceeding.
GRU ratepayers need the Authority to lower rates; stop the monetary transfers from GRU to the City of Gainesville and Alachua County, both direct and indirect; and start paying down the debt or seek a State of Florida bail-out.
Hutch’s playbook is clear. He writes, “In 2024, $400 million in various forms of debt will have to be refinanced.” By creating doubts about the legitimacy of the Authority, Hutch and his comrades seek to disrupt ordinary GRU financing, which will, of course, hurt GRU ratepayers even more. This is designed to force the legislature to rewrite HB1645 to the liking of Ward, Hutch, et al. This partisan cult of miscreants must be taken for the threat they pose and be dealt with according to our laws.
Hutch closes out his letter with the following: “For more info or to support our litigation fund…”
Please join me in donating instead to the Alachua Chronicle so we can continue to receive local news we can trust (and need).
Jim Konish, Gainesville
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Hutch wants to make sure county residents remember him as the idiot he was and continues to be.
Unfortunately, Covid affected some lives more than it did others.
A glitch bill could be passed, but that presumes the Legislature cares at this point. This is a unique monster of their creation. Fiddling with it every year may not help things.
Jim Konish has it nailed. We certainly need to have Ward kicked out of the mayor’s office by the governor, and his talk and actions thoroughly investigated by the state. Those investigations also need to include the wood burner, Hanrahan and Poe. They ooze the same slime as the corrupt Democrats ruining the big name cities.
He’s an out-of-his-mind, dystopian tree-hugger, gleefully killing and burning up trees while hugging the utility company like it’s Mother Earth. The Iguana is a good place for him. Sue him like any big company would if he is causing financial harm to GRU or the taxpayers.
This sounds just like what pedojoe is doing to the whole country.
I appreciate Jim Konish’s insight and warning. We need citizens like him to raise the alarm when misleading power plays like this are afoot.
I hope the Legislature is paying attention and equips the new GRU Authority with all the tools it needs to actually address the problems that the local politicians foisted on GRU and thus the ratepayers and taxpayers.
They’re pissed because their cash cow was taken from them.
It’s NOT the job of the GRU Authority to bailout the Gainesville City Commission who made no significant cuts to their budgets over the years while sitting on a MOUNTAIN of UNSUSTAINABLE City/GRU debt.
Democrats and others, collected over a THOUSAND signatures calling for a FORENSIC audit of the GRU/GREC multi BILLION dollar biomass/tree burner contract when Ed Braddy was Mayor.
Unfortunately, it appeared that a long time serving top City Financial Executive who retired from the city and is now a GRU Financial Executive, encouraged the city commission to select a firm that omitted all the forensic pieces of the audit in their bid, leaving GRU customers with a whittled-down version, an “Investigative Review” instead, known as the “Navigant Report”.
It appears, the current GRU GM/CEO and the GRU Financial Executive are and have been working on behalf of members of The Gainesville City Commission who created and/or continue to defend the MONSTROUS biomass/tree burner FINANCIAL DISASTER, and want to shutdown the newly appointed GRU Authority, that residents of ALL political parties have worked so hard to have.
It’s the Commie Playbook happening everywhere Dems gain one-party rule. Destroy a culture you envy, then remake it so it’s your way — and it fails (unintentionally) again.
For those who didn’t buy the program, here are the players:
1. The “Authority” is illegal and irrelevant, given that only 1 of the 5 meets the Authorities own qualifications for appointment. It’s a of matter of time until it is disbanded, and it’s members – but one – told to get lost.
2. Jim Konish is a loser who was defeated in his run for city commission by a vote of 4 to 1 against him. He then sued and lost a case against the winner based on – get this – their disqualification to hold the position based on where he lived. Hellloooo! Apparently he holds no loyalty to the office he ran for, the city of Gainesville, or the principle of being qualified, That city owns GRU, not Chuckie Clemons, FP&Ls lackey Sen Perry, the governor, the state, or whoever these “Authority” carpet-baggers are that the Governor found on a GOP donors list.
Talk about a Dominate Poster that has more dislikes than Joe Biden and Harvey Ward, the Jazz Clown seems to be against saving GRU, reimbursing GRU tax slaves , and GRU workers . Still in denial and lala land. His rerun comments are a broken record , just like lawless supporting COG Commissioner’s.
Everything I posted above is factual and clearly you have not refuted any of it. I’ll take that as agreement – high five!
Konish is interesting as these comments indicate: He is one of very very few hereabouts who appears able to take the punishment for speaking truth to power and keep going. At many public meetings he revealed how elected mayors and their commission majorities can hide or disguise gross misfeasance, misappropriations and huge tax increases using other names. Evidence, provided from from informed public, amounts to “annoyances” that are easily dismissed by our city, their appointees, their managers and their media. Or perhaps there is danger in any deeper analysis.
Pointing out wrongdoing in government has strong opponents, as on this page where someone even attacks Konish’s fopr running to replace Hayes-Santos. Nevertheless, Konish continues to shine the an annoying light on massive city hall misspending that is increasingly conducted in the dark. Moreover, new, quiet city hall deals are in progress that will forever transfer the declining assets of working class residents to corporations by management who now uses lucrative, no-bid private contracts for that charge what they want for essential city services. And the public is paying for more and more lawsuits designed to keep the utility collecting city taxes by another name.
The city also engaged in an extended attempt to make it appear that their activities were supported by citizens they appointed as utility advisors. At one meeting of their appointed utility advisor board, members were presented with the problem of the enormous costs of utility debt to which the instant suggestion was just to raise rates. Raising rates was publicly presented as the most appropriate way to keep up with the notoriously large transfer and expanding debt without any alternative from any of the appointees present. The few citizens that observed this dimwit deliberation became nauseated and left never to return.
Some think Konish does need to be stopped because he is making it harder to defend the city commissions votes, the manager’s palace, the lawsuits that keep fleecing ratepayers and the palace manager’s unaccountable spending spree. Konish just wont stop explaining how fiscal fantasies harm ratepayers, services payers and taxpayers (OMG thats 3) using hard data to show how GRU became a financial weapon and how to fix it. One commentator in this forum actually attacked him for standing for election to the city commission. This is perhaps the most interesting attack because evidence confirms that the city’s rigged electoral buddy system results in gerrymandered election events and should be the subject of much more analysis and disclosure if representative government is to be returned to Gainesville Florida.
So really, why does Konish keep standing up to a city who took control of voting away from the elections supervisor and rigged the system? Why does Konish keep presenting the evidence of gross misfeasance that, if actually read, would be terribly embarrassing because it shows the true effect on working folks that city hall and their official daily newspaper have defended for decades? Why do the slings and arrows of empty attacks, lawsuits and the like appear to roll off his encyclicals? Is he oblivious to pain or irrepressibly unable to tolerate the abuse of power that makes fools of us all?
Perhaps Konish is one of the last angry citizens who see through the municipally generated fiscal fog, and won’t stand for it. Lets keep him around.
And 3 Jazzman is a complete and utter idiot, that cannot comprehend the easiest reads because his head is stuck somewhere it shouldn’t be!
Next time That Girl, and speaking of idiocy, how about some substance in your post. You know that everything I posted above is factually correct while you have posted nothing but your opinion about me.
Gaslighting. It’s what for breakfast, served to you by the GCC. 👍🏼
First, I agree with the facts presented by Jim and after having read and re-read 1645 as well as Dempsey’s ruling (and reasons for it), I apply the ‘reasonable person’ test in the results of this saga including the Governor’s decisions regarding GRU and its Board.
To care about this issue voters must understand it beyond the ‘us and them’ polemics. Most don’t.
This is another matter in which the few do the heavy lifting for the many and what comes with that is the potential for corruption and political gridlock.
A ‘reasonable person’ can easily conclude Gainesville has exactly what it wants and deserves in service from its government as well as lack thereof. The City also has its share of dissent which has risen to the level of white noise.
Mayor Ward and associates are not acting reasonably or in the best interest of Gainesville. That’s all their supporters hear without understanding the obfuscations Ward presents as political attacks by the right wing. That perception probably won’t change because it fits with how people have learned political dogma for decades.
I submit to Jim and others a different course of action; inaction.
Let the State deal with the Mayor and his associates and tone down the attacks viewed as partisan; remove Ward’s oxygen that fuels his absurd fires he tries to light. Ward and his associates have already consumed too much of our time calling, and re-calling, the fire department.
The positive changes which will ultimately stick in Gainesville will come from necessity not from the political schtick of a local politician or voters who blindly support and follow. Business and Nature are the big players here, not Ward.
RE: the Chronicle.
Yes, supporting the Chronicle is a good idea if it maintains a fair and accurate reporting ethic. The world has enough mouthpieces in the media filtering information though a single political filter.
this is the effort’s of communism, to over throw all of the local governments that it can, to be in control while they set in comfort at the top, looks like they have certain local citizens support, shame on all of them, a bunch of HEATHEN’S.
Acting like a bunch of first grade brats! Can’t have our way, fine, we’ll rape the tax payers for the cash to file more frivolous law suits, anything we can to destroy GRU and the Governor’s oversight board.
If Hutch is writing to that left wing toilet paper rag called the Iguana, shows where his loyalty is.
Hopefully (HA) the governor will remove the ENTIRE city commission and appoint some folks with common sense.
Stay tuned voters…..
I do not understand the details of this situation at all. What I do know is that GRU has (has had) the highest rates in the state. I live outside the city limits, yet I am forced to be governed by COG officials who I can’t vote for (or against). It is Taxation without Representation. I also DO know that the city commission is (and has been) composed of financially-irresponsible anti-American nut jobs.
Mr. Konish – you are a “bit” of a nut job yourself, but I honestly do appreciate all your efforts to protect us taxpayers.
It’s long but not too complicated.
GRU is our utility company and they make money charging their customers for services.
The Gainesville City Commission (GCC) transfers not only all the profits that GRU makes each year to the city’s budget, but even more on top of that, causing the utility to incur massive debt (nearly $2 billion).
This money is used to fund the excessively large city government and political pet projects that would otherwise be rejected by voters.
A significant portion of GRU customers live outside of Gainesville, and is not able to vote for or against the commissioners who do this.
The GCC has entered into foolish renewable energy contracts that have further crippled the utility, in order to make the sleepy town of Gainesville, FL compliant with the failed Kyoto Protocol, among others, despite the majority of Americans in general and Floridians in particular rejecting them.
The debt must be paid by raising utility rates. In the span of 6-7 years, ordinary people have seen their rates nearly triple.
After a series of credit downgrades, the corruption could no longer be ignored and the state legislature has taken action to remove the GCC’s control of GRU’s funds. The GRU Authority was created in the legislature and the members were appointed by the governor, with the goal of running the utility in the people’s best interest, instead of letting the greedy and corrupt GCC use it as their personal piggy-bank.
The GCC was told by the legislature to cut the budget now that the GRU transfer is gone. Instead, they raised the budget and raised property takes 27%, the maximum allowed by law.
The GCC has taken numerous unethical and possibly illegal measures to thwart this transfer, including creation of fake / astroturf organizations, the filing of frivolous lawsuits, smearing of GRUA members by the Gainesville Sun (part of the publishing arm of the DNC), and attempting to seize control of the GRUA using the city attorney.
The legislature advised them to raise property taxes. And 27% is not the maximum allowed by law. The maximum is 10 mills. COG is at 6.4297. If the GFT is totally taken away you can guarantee they will go up again.
Democrats are a cancer.
I appreciate Mr. Konish’s attention to this topic, trying to keep the city commissioners accountable to the community, and keep the community informed about what they were up to, for over 15 years. And I appreciate the reminder at the end of his letter, “Please join me in donating instead to the Alachua Chronicle so we can continue to receive local news we can trust.” We are fortunate to have this alternate news source, since our long time local newspaper is basically corrupted and the propaganda it puts out isn’t worth reading, much less paying for.
Unlike the “Authority” which is answerable only to the governor, and which has only one member who is actually qualified under the very simple rules of the “Authority”, the commission is answerable every election to the owners of GRU – that would be the citizens of Gainesville. Jim Kornish ran for commissioner and got his hat handed to him in a 4 to 1 rout, and of course now this clown has turned traitor to self determination for the citizens of Gainesville BECAUSE HE LOST.
I do a monthly donation to the Alaucha Chronicle I encourage everyone on here to do the same