Letter: Democrats who asked the state to audit the City in 2019 urge a NO vote on GRU referendum

Letter to the editor

Gainesville voters are being asked whether to return control of Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) to the City Commission or keep it under the independent GRU Authority established by the Florida Legislature after a state audit revealed serious financial mismanagement.

Who are we and why should you consider what we have to share? We are Jo Beaty, Donald Fields, Tina Fields, and Brian O’Brien, long-time community advocates who pushed for the state audit and reforms, and we argue that returning GRU to the City Commission would undo recent progress. Under the Authority and its utility-experienced CEO, GRU has begun stabilizing debt, holding rates down as much as possible, cutting unnecessary transfers to the City, and maintaining strong reliability and bond ratings.

City Commissioners and those behind the “Vote Yes” campaign support the City Commission’s governance of the utility, claiming it’s about restoring “local control.” To the contrary, history shows the Commission’s decisions led to excessive debt — notably the biomass deal — and questionable spending priorities that strained GRU and ratepayers. The referendum would remove independent oversight, put a non-utility charter officer in charge instead of an expert, and allow the Commission to again divert utility funds for unrelated spending.

Voting NO keeps GRU on a disciplined financial path, protects ratepayers, and prevents a return to the governance failures that triggered state intervention in the first place. 

Bottom line? If Gainesville wants affordable, reliable utilities and responsible fiscal management, get out to the polls and vote NO. 

Early voting starts today, October 31, through Sunday, November 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at two locations. Voting resumes on Tuesday, November 4, at all voting locations. Details are posted here.

A longer version of this letter and links for more information can be found below.

Yours for a better governance of Gainesville’s assets,
Jo Beaty, Donald Fields, Tina Fields, and Brian O’Brien 

Longer version, with more details

To the Voters of Gainesville:

Voting begins today to determine who will control GRU – the GRU Authority or the City Commission.

We urge you to Vote No! Who are we and why should you consider what we have to share? We are Jo Beaty, Donald Fields, Tina Fields, and Brian O’Brien. We are knowledgeable, informed, and actively involved citizens who have been advocating for better management of our utility for the benefit of all customers for almost two decades. 

In 2019, when all else failed, we approached our elected Representative Chuck Clemons and Senator Keith Perry, asking for help. We requested that the state Auditor General be tasked with looking into the City and the City Commission’s mismanagement of Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) and its $2 billion debt. This request eventually was referred to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee (JLAC)¹.

State legislators of both parties listened and voted to audit the City of Gainesville. The resulting audit report prompted the Florida Legislature to enact HB 1645, which created the independent Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority. In addition to providing a structure for good governance of the GRU, the bill also gave representation to GRU customers outside the city limits. The referendum is the City’s attempt to overturn those results.

We could write a book about the history of GRU when run by the City Commission and why we need to keep it under the Authority’s management. Clearly, the Authority and the CEO have lowered GRU debt and kept rates as affordable as possible, while not accruing additional debt, all while maintaining a good bond rating and excellent reliability to its customers. 

Here is the ballot text: “SHALL THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE CHARTER BE AMENDED TO DELETE ARTICLE VII, ELIMINATING THE GOVERNOR-APPOINTED GAINESVILLE REGIONAL UTILITIES AUTHORITY AND ITS AUTHORITY-APPOINTED CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER/GENERAL MANAGER THAT MANAGE, OPERATE, AND CONTROL THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE’S LOCAL PUBLIC UTILITIES, SO THAT THE ELECTED CITY COMMISSION AND ITS CITY COMMISSION APPOINTED CHARTER OFFICER HAVE THAT RESPONSIBILITY; AND ELIMINATING LIMITATIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT SERVICES  CONTRIBUTION AND UTILITY DIRECTIVES, AS PROPOSED BY ORDINANCE NO. 2025-416”

If you don’t understand the ballot language, VOTE NO! A yes vote on this referendum would not only return control of GRU to the City Commission but also put an unspecified “charter officer” in charge of running the utility company in addition to that employee’s other duties, rather than a utility expert in the fast-changing energy sector, as well as water, wastewater, and all else that GRU provides. 

To keep the Authority in place, do two things: Vote NO and ask others to do the same.

Early voting starts today, October 31, through Sunday, November 2, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at two locations. Voting resumes on Tuesday, November 4, at all voting locations. Details are posted here: https://www.votealachua.com/Elections/Upcoming-Elections.

While the referendum may not seem as exciting as most opportunities to vote, the results will have large and lasting effects on the local utility company as well as on Gainesville City government — and your utility bills! It is worth careful consideration beyond the partisan politics being promoted to return GRU to City Commission control with a poor track record. A NO vote is a chance to keep GRU moving in the right direction.

Listen to well-informed Democrats: VOTE NO on the referendum

Thank you for your consideration.

Jo Beaty, Donald Fields, Tina Fields, and Brian O’Brien

For those that are interested in more information regarding the Operational Audit: Click here to read the Auditor General’s report.

¹JLAC Meeting Packet November 14, 2019   – Gainesville Item begins on page 19: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Data/Committees/Joint/JCLA/Meetingpackets/111419.pdf 

Also see the video of the November 14, 2019 JLAC meeting: https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/11-14-19-joint-legislative-auditing-committee/ 

Listen to this and judge for yourself if you want the City to regain control of GRU: JLAC Meeting Video – Auditor Reports findings and the City’s responses to JLAC’s questions
https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/2-23-23-joint-legislative-auditing-committee

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