The Gainesville Regional Utilities ballot referendum, which would return control of the utility company to the Gainesville City Commission, passed overwhelmingly, with nearly 73% of the vote on Tuesday night.
The local utilities referendum asked voters whether the GRU Authority Board or the city commission should control the utility company, which would have dissolved the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority Board (GRUA). However, the board cannot be disbanded until its legal battle with the city of Gainesville is resolved.
Gainesville residents at the GRU meetings today spoke out about the referendum results.
David Hastings, 67, of Gainesville, favored the amendment and said that the governor, who appointed the board, does not have the community interests in mind.
“We want greater influence over the mission and management of GRU through citizen action and voting,” said Hastings during public comment. “We want GRU policies and priorities to be determined, not by the governor, but by city ordinances that reflect community priorities regarding social, environment, and many other goals.”
However, not everyone was pleased with the result. Angela Casteel, 48, of Gainesville, said GRU ratepayers who live outside the city should also be able to vote on who controls their utility.
The GRU Authority Board and the Gainesville City Commission have been at odds since the city voted to place the referendum on the ballot. Robert “Chip” Skinner, a member of the GRU board, said in October that the referendum would not represent all of GRU’s customers.
“The GRU authority board was brought into existence because it was kind of like taxation without representation for those in the county outside the city limits that have no choice but to use GRU,” said Skinner. “But they had no voice in what was going on with GRU. So I think those people are still left out, which is unfortunate because we do have quite a few.”
Skinner also said that the decisions are not made by people in Tallahassee.
“We're local people making decisions. We're not some guy from Tallahassee that's coming in and dictating what GRU does. We’re GRU customers and residents,” said Skinner back in October.
Ed Bielarski, CEO of Gainesville Regional Utilities, said the referendum passing did not surprise him.
“It's a natural progression, wasn't surprised about the vote, and we had prepared for that inevitability by seeking the injunction that basically maintains the status quo until the judge can rule,” said Bielarski.
For Bobby Mermer, the Yes Local Public Utilities campaign manager, the vote was a mandate from the people.
“As campaign manager, I was hoping for 60%. That was my goal. To see us push above 70, I don't have the words,” said Mermer on election night. “I'm very excited. I mean, this is a clear mandate. The local ratepayers want ratepayers in control of GRU, not Tallahassee. And that was made very, very clear tonight.”
The Florida Legislature passed HB1645, which amended Gainesville’s city charter. The law created the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority and removed control of GRU from the Gainesville City Commission.
Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge George M. Wright will decide whether to uphold the referendum's votes during a two-day trial, which will likely be held in December.