Keep
Gainesville
Local!
Vote YES for
Local Public Utilities
Why We Need Local Control
Giving Voice to Residents
The GRU Takeover was passed by party-line vote with no say from Gainesville residents. This DeSantis appointed board answers to no one but the Governor. Government works best when it answers to the people, not statewide politicians with no connections to Gainesville.
Community Empowerment
This Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority has the power to raise rates, increase debt, sell public land, hurt pensions, and eliminate jobs, with no oversight or say from our local community. It remains a part of the City of Gainesville, so any mistake it makes our taxpayers have to pay.
Vote YES for Local Public Utilities
Eliminate the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority
It's time Gainesville takes our local utilities back from Ron DeSantis and the state. On November 5th the residents of Gainesville have the chance to fight back and keep Gainesville local.
We are a group of community organizations that are urging residents to vote YES on "Local Public Utilities" on the November 2024 ballot.
What does it say on the ballot?
The ballot language is:
Local Public Utilities
Shall the City of Gainesville Charter be amended to delete Article VII, eliminating the Governor-Appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority and its appointed administrator that manage, operate, and control the City of Gainesville's local public utilities and placing that responsibility with the elected City Commission and Charter Officer; and eliminating limitations on the Government Services Contribution and utility directives; as proposed by ordinance No. 2024-352?
What would this change do?
A "yes" vote on "Local Public Utilities" would simply remove the section of the City of Gainesville's charter that was added by the Legislature in 2023, eliminating the Governor appointed Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority and returning governance to the elected officials of the City of Gainesville.
Why are Gainesville utilities controlled by the State?
In 2022 Newberry representative Chuck Clemons filed a local bill, HB 1645, that altered the Charter of the City of Gainesville and took Gainesville Regional Utilities away from the residents and gave it to appointees of the Governor. Passed on party-line vote, GRU became the only municipal utility in the entire country that's controlled by the Governor. It was passed in the final weeks of the legislature, with no public meetings held in Gainesville, no community input. Worst of all, there was no vote of the local residents, like has been the norm for charter provisions like this in the past.
Now the residents have the chance to vote on this important issue once and for all.
JOIN THE TEAM