Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward argued that a utility controlled by the City Commission, elected by the citizens, is the better governance structure moving forward, calling the current setup unique in the country.
Gainesville Regional Utilities’ (GRU) CEO Ed Bielarski highlighted improved financial metrics since the GRU Authority assumed control in 2023, calling attention to the unique debt surrounding the utility that prompted the authority’s creation.
Ward questioned whether the arguments would sway voters one way or the other.
“We voted on this a bunch of times,” Ward said in his opening statement. “This is number three, and I think most people in this room have probably already voted, or you know exactly how you’re going to vote.”
Ward and Bielarski participated in a town hall on Tuesday evening at the D.R. Williams Fellowship Hall. The two officials answered questions submitted by the audience concerning GRU, its governance structure, past votes and how millions of dollars flow between the utility and the general government of Gainesville.
The town hall precedes the Nov. 4 referendum that asks city voters if they’d like to eliminate the section of the city charter that created the GRU Authority.
Ward pointed to instability within the authority. Gov. Ron DeSantis has made 11 appointments for five seats in just over two years of operation, he said. A vacant seat currently exists, and under the City Commission, Ward said citizens would have a known process to fill any empty seat—a city election for a new commissioner.
He said this isn’t a blow against the people on the authority but on the system in place.
Ward also said that governors change. Citizens who like the notion of DeSantis selecting the GRU Authority members might not like a future governor or their appointments.
“No matter which side of the aisle you fall on, eventually it will swing, and it’s going to be a different kind of governor,” Ward said.
Bielarski pointed to $177 million in reduced debt since the GRU Authority took control, along with lower electric bills, attributed to both falling natural gas prices, prepayments for fuel and fiscal prudence.
He said GRU has a unique debt load that requires a unique structure. Other utilities in distress also fall under state oversight and sometimes control.
“We ought to keep the general fund transfer low,” Bielarski said. “We ought to continue paying down that debt and keep rates competitive, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Bielarski said capital expenditures ballooned while he was away from the utility. He said the authority had cut from that section and right-sized the organization, reducing to a productive, efficient staff of under 800 employees.
He said that the bond rating agencies like what the GRU Authority has done and want to see the general services contribution remain low.
Bielarski called the general services contribution a dividend to the city, but Ward countered and said it’s more like a payment in lieu of taxes that a private company would pay.
Ward said the city estimated that, on the lower side, GRU would pay around $ 18 million or $19 million. Instead, he highlighted that the authority is only paying $8 million, with additional fees pulled out.
In his opening statement, Bielarski pointed to excess general services contributions in the past. The transfer hit a high of $38 million, and he said the transfers pulled more money than the utility made over a stretch of years.
In 2024, the City Commission placed a similar referendum on the ballot, and Gainesville voters sided strongly with the commission, resulting in a 72% victory. But the results are tied up in the courts.
The City Commission issued the second referendum to correct ballot language and to perhaps switch control more quickly. A hearing scheduled for Wednesday will determine if the referendum takes immediate effect upon passage.