GRU responds to the City Manager’s message about the City’s budget

Press release from Gainesville Regional Utilities

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Today Gainesville Regional Utilities Interim CEO Ed Bielarski released the following response to Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry’s message about the City’s FY2025 budget:

The email Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry sent today about the City’s fiscal year 2025 budget is a perfect illustration of why GRU needs to operate under an independent authority. This is the latest in a series of communications that weaponizes the annual multi-million-dollar contribution GRU makes to the City’s general fund, including threatening that a reduction will cause the City to cut fire and police services. The $68 million overpayment the email dismisses is based on generally-accepted accounting principles rather than a nuanced calculation no other municipal utility uses as a proxy for transfers.

Ultimately, all these communications accomplish is to further vilify GRU’s employees by contributing to the narrative that GRU is a bad actor. Even more confounding is that GRU is a department of the City, albeit one overseen by an independent board. This kind of rhetoric has for years worsened GRU’s reputation and should cease immediately for the good of both our employees and customers.

– GRU CEO Ed Bielarski

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