Letter: Vote NO – Keep GRU independent from City control
Letter to the editor
Why Gainesville needs accountability, not more debt and mismanagement
The Florida Auditor General’s report exposed serious governance failures when the City controlled GRU. Voting NO protects ratepayers, utilities workers, and our community’s financial future.
Click here to read the Auditor General’s report.
Top reasons to vote NO:
- GRU’s debt is among the highest in Florida municipal utilities — driven by City decisions.
- The City transferred GRU funds without a clear, fair method — draining utility finances.
- Poor financial oversight – the City lacked in-house accounting expertise and relied on outside services.
- Budget processes lacked transparency and accountability to the public.
- GRU funds were used for unrelated City programs without clear benefit to ratepayers.
- City nonprofits and programs lacked proper oversight and transparency.
- The Auditor General documented the City’s weak controls on credit cards, travel spending, and contract reviews.
- The City failed to monitor financial performance effectively — leaving ratepayers at risk.
A NO vote keeps structures in place to protect ratepayers from higher bills and ensures GRU is managed responsibly.
Early voting starts on Friday, October 31, and continues on Saturday and Sunday at the Millhopper Library and the Supervisor of Elections Office. The election is on Tuesday, November 4.
**Vote NO — Protect our power, protect our wallets, protect our future.**
Angela Casteel, Gainesville
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
Although the Alachua Disclaimer doesn’t necessarily reflect their view, your opinion piece reflects mine and should reflect the opinion of any common sense, educated person in Gainesville.
I guess we’ll see how many of those there are after the dust settles.
How much more ridiculous a suggestion can there be to advocate than keeping property of the City “independent” from the City.
WTF?
Voting to increase one’s utility rates and taxes come to mind.
You’re a really stupid, ignorant individual if you think that’s not ridiculous.
If Americans throughout history voted to relingish their control over their governance everytime some one in office F up, we’d have no democracy left. I’d be favoring turning over the White House and Tally Gov’s mansion to “authorities”.
Suck it up and win an election.
Vote NO to keep rates LOW!
NO has my vote. Great letter packed with important information. Hoping for the best.
Excellent letter. I hope there are enough intelligent City residents paying attention and thinking this through to overcome the residents who just vote for whoever and whatever the Democrat machine tells them to vote for…
Show one thing that the City Commission has successfully managed. Just one. Vote NO!
1. They’ve managed to make NW 8th Ave less efficient.
2. They’ve managed to increase costs to customers of businesses downtown by raising parking fees & cutting the time permitted. (According to one restaurant, they’ve lost business.)
3. They’ve managed to shut down a downtown road, (less parking though).
4. They’ve managed to invite more homeless to the area.
5. They’ve managed to saddle residents with more debt than ever before, (Bio-fiasco).
6. They’ve managed to raise costs of living, (while most people are complaining about costs).
7. They’ve managed to have several stop violence summits, but personal safety plummets.
I guess that’s 7 things. Success depends on whose interpretation.
One thing that likely escapes many people’s memories is that prior to the Authority, the Commission had voted to almost double their salaries. DOUBLE! Anyone here have a 100% increase in their salaries of late…at any time? Duncan-Walker seems to only attend about 1/3 of the meetings at that.
If the Commission regains control, you can put money on it – they will have another vote for that within the year.
Voting NO would be the logical and most prudent decision.
GRU, which just prior to the hostile takeover by the local traitors Clemons and Perry – good riddance – received a A credit rating, the same as FPL, and which is the culmination of the utility company the City created and has run for over 100 years.
What have you done lately?
Woke up, made my bed, made and ate breakfast…and didn’t charge anyone 3 – 7%. All before 5:30.
Besides grovelling & writing your continued support for fiscal incompetence, what’d you do?
2.1 billion dollar scam to build a wood burner. Clowns elected by a clown voter base
Why would anyone vote to increase their utility rates??? Free spending liberals will vote to increase others utility rates too.
Why would you vote to steal property because you thought it would benefit you?
People have done that throughout history.
Not all were voted on, but lands were stolen.
The same reason you would vote to steal citizens taxdollars……
2.1 billion dollar scam wood burner.
Angela, you forgot that if the politicians regain control of GRU, they have ZERO business experience, much any knowledge of how to run a utility. Their plan is to allow the appointed City Manager (with no CEO or utility experience) to run GRU. When the state took it away to begin with, the politicians had voted to raise rates every year, automatically. They were also taking more money from GRU than its revenues. The Authority, on the other hand, has LOWERED RATES and accelerated the debt payoff.
Yes all of that too.
You can also add to the fact that residents outside the City limits who are forced to use GRU Utilities have no vote in this at all. The early voting and the fact that many inside the city who have a vote are here temporarily as students. There is a reason the GRU was taken away from the Commissioners and maybe just maybe thats what the voters should be thinking about.
I agree.