09/20/23 UPDATE: Gainesville Residents United, Inc. provides an update and timeline for the city lawsuit regarding the takeover of Gainesville Regional Utilities.

09/01/23 Update: Bryan Eastman provides an update and timeline for the city lawsuit regarding the takeover of Gainesville Regional Utilities.

07/02/23 Update: Gainesville Residents United, a Gainesville nonprofit, filed a federal lawsuit in an effort to block and defeat the GRU Takeover Bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week. The bill will hand control of Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) to an independent board. Read more by Mainstreet Daily News and stay tuned for more updates.

06/28/23 Update: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the GRU Takeover Bill. 

05/08/23 Update: LWVAC President Janice Garry sent a letter to LWVAC members and the Alachua County community asking everyone to contact the Governor again today to ask him to veto the bill. The Action Alert has been updated with a new message to send. Help save local control of GRU!

05/05/23 Update: The Senate approved House Bill 1645. Control over the future of Gainesville Regional Utilities now rests in the hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Contact the Governor today and ask him to veto the bill. Then ask your Florida friends, family, and neighbors to also contact the Governor. The Action Alert has been updated with details so you can help save local control of GRU. 

04/26/23 Update: Our opposition has switched gears, and we ask you to send emails and calls to Gov. DeSantis asking him to veto the bill. Yes, this assumes that the bill will be passed by the House and Senate. Since there is so little time, we want to get out messages to the governor now. Then ask your Florida friends, family, and neighbors to also contact the Governor. The Action Alert has been updated with details so you can help save local control of GRU. 

04/25/23 Update: The Invading Sea published a commentary on the GRU Takeover Bill. You can read it here.

04/22/23 Update: House Bill 1645 regarding Gainesville Regional Utility (GRU) governance was approved by the Florida House State Affairs Committee on April 19th. On April 21st, there was a joint meeting of the City Commission, members of the Utility Advisory Board, and the Legislative Delegation. Although all five members of the Legislative Delegation were invited, Representative Yvonne Hayes Hinson was the sole delegate who attended. The meeting gave leadership an opportunity to voice their concerns about the vagaries of HB 1645, which would change the governance of Gainesville Regional Utilities from the City Commission to a five-member governor-appointed board called the Authority. Every person at the dais spoke in opposition to the bill. Some 20-30 audience members spoke in opposition and two spoke in favor of the bill.

Published March 8, 2023

Since the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee met regarding GRU debt, the LWV of Alachua County Natural Resources Committee has been concerned about the idea to sell GRU to alleviate debt. In 2018, LWV of Alachua County performed a comprehensive Study and Action on GRU governance with a unanimous decision to publicly support local management. 

I sent the letter below on behalf of our league to Chuck.Clemons [at] myfloridahouse.gov (Representative Chuck Clemmons), perry.keith [at] flsenate.gov (Senator Keith Perry), Mike.Caruso [at] myfloridahouse.gov (Representative Mike Caruso) (alternating chair), Pizzo.Jason [at] flsenate.gov (Senator Jason Pizzo) (alternating chair), and the jlac [at] leg.state.fl.us (Joint Legislative Auditing Committee) with a carbon copy to the Citycomm [at] cityofgainesville.org (Gainesville City Commission). We encourage all of our members to contact these legislators to voice their support for local control of GRU as well.

March 7, 2023

To All Entities Considering Usurping Control of Gainesville Regional Utilities:

The League of Women Voters of Alachua County wishes to express our support of reforms to make Gainesville Regional Utility more financially sustainable while voicing our strong opposition to privatizing Gainesville Regional Utilities or taking local control of our utility away from our residents.

For over 100 years Gainesville Regional Utilities has provided electricity, water, and wastewater services to our community as a community-owned and operated utility. We are proud to have a utility that is “owned by the people it serves”. In 2018 the League of Women Voters completed a comprehensive Study and Action on the topic of GRU governance as a response to a referendum suggesting that an “Independent Authority” should govern GRU rather than the City Commission. The team voted unanimously against the referendum, finding that our residents are better served with a locally controlled utility.

Gainesville Regional Utilities provides top of the line service with some of the best reliability in the state of Florida. Although GRU’s debt is high, from publicly available information we find that it is rated A+ by Fitch, A by S&P, and Aa3 by Moody’s. GRU bond debt ratings appear to be higher than Florida Power and Light, Tampa Electric Company, and Duke Electric Florida.

The LWVAC acknowledges the need to pay down GRU debt and make GRU more financially sound, but strongly opposes any effort that would privatize GRU or take it away from local control. The impact of such an action could be damaging, reducing our local ability to make decisions and defunding local services, including first responders. Additionally, there would be a loss of over 100 years of history that has been central to what makes Gainesville what it is.

Gainesville residents have consistently stood up for local control of our utility. Since 2014 there have been efforts to snatch GRU management away from elected Gainesville officers. Finally, in 2018, the idea was put before the voters to have GRU managed by the previously mentioned “Independent Authority”. Voters rejected the idea by 60%. Gainesville residents have consistently defended public oversight of our utility. The LWV of Florida consistently supports home rule.

While GRU rates are used as a pretext for replacing local management with outside management, there is nothing about the change that would address rates. As a city with well over 50% of property off the tax rolls, the city managed utility is able to contribute to essential services, as directed by elected local officials. An outside or private entity would have no motivation to support the citizens of Gainesville nor would they have an understanding of local endeavors. GRU has new leadership with the management skills and motivation to improve communication with citizenry and address rates.

The League of Women Voters of Alachua County strongly urges you to respect the will of Gainesville residents. Voters have spoken strongly. Voters have spoken consistently. Our newly elected mayor and commission are up to the task of putting GRU on a financially sustainable path. The League of Women Voters of Alachua County firmly opposes any effort to privatize or take local control of GRU away from our residents.

Janice Garry
LWV of Alachua County President