Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward and Gainesville Regional Utilities CEO Ed Bielarski will debate in a nonpartisan town hall next week as a Nov. 4 referendum to dissolve the GRU Authority nears.  

The referendum, if successful, would dissolve the authority, which governs the utility, and return control of GRU to the City Commission, which managed the utility until 2023. 

Hosted by Visionaries Inc., the town hall will start at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the D. R. Williams Fellowship Hall, 618 NW 6th St., Gainesville. The Alachua County NAACP is also supporting the event.  

Besides Ward and Bielarski, a representative from the Supervisor of Elections office will discuss statewide changes to the vote-by-mail process. 

The event is open to the public, and light refreshments will be served afterward. 

The GRU Authority was created in 2023 following a local bill that passed the Florida Legislature and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.  

Proponents of the authority said the City Commission had irresponsibly managed the utility, causing $1.8 billion in debt. But the City Commission and many community groups opposed the change. Critics said it took away local control and gave it to an unelected body.  

The City Commission decided to place a referendum on the 2024 election to amend its charter and remove the section added by the Florida Legislature that created the GRU Authority.  

That referendum was then challenged in the courts. 

Gainesville’s attorneys argued that cities have the power to change their charters, even sections added by the Florida Legislature. A judge agreed in April 2025.  

The Legislature could have placed the utility completely outside the city’s jurisdiction, but by using a change in the charter, the judge said a future change to the charter could remove the authority and reinstate the commission as GRU managers.  

Even though the 2024 referendum passed, the judge also ruled that the language about the change used on the ballot was misleading. This ruling left the GRU Authority in charge even as the decision is under appeal before the Florida First District Court of Appeal.  

In the meantime, the City Commission voted to update the ballot language, hold a special election and ask the electorate to return to the polls. 

The GRU Authority has filed injunctions to prevent this second referendum, scheduled for Nov. 4. So far, those lawsuits have been unsuccessful, but another hearing will happen on Oct. 29.