In a special election last November, Gainesville residents voted for the second time to return control of local utilities to the city after the previous referendum was nullified because of unclear wording on the ballot.
But an appeals court blocked further action until ongoing lawsuits against the city were settled.
Gainesville’s utilities have been led by a five-member authority board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis since 2023. Before the governor stepped in, the city controlled its own utilities.
The 2023 authority change was spearheaded by former state Rep. Chuck Clemons, who drafted the house bill signed by the governor. At the time, Clemons said Gainesville Regional Utilities was headed for bankruptcy and an independent board could help organize the service.
The authority board filed complaints against the city for both the 2024 and 2025 Local Public Utilities referendums, and the 2024 case is still pending an appellate court decision.
Oral arguments for the appeal in the 2024 case will be heard on Feb. 10 at the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee.
The first round
The first GRU referendum passed with a nearly 73% vote in 2024. However, the state-appointed GRU Authority maintained control of local utilities after a judge nullified the results.
The ruling came after the GRU Authority filed a lawsuit against the city alleging unclear ballot wording and an overstep of authority. It also claimed the city failed to include a business impact estimate alongside the referendum, in which Gainesville city commissioners are required to list any additional costs private and for-profit businesses may need to take on to follow an ordinance.
Circuit Judge George M. Wright agreed the ballot contained unclear wording and lacked a business impact estimate, thus nullifying election results. However, he added the city could amend its charters under the Florida statutes and Constitution — ushering in the opportunity for the city to “redo” the referendum and try again to pass it.
The GRU Authority appealed the case. Eric Lawson, a GRU Authority board member, told The Alligator he believes the decision to do so originated in the need to uphold state law.
“I feel like it’s my duty as a board member to defend the legislation that was signed by the governor,” he said.
Lawson said he believes it’s important for utilities to be controlled by an independent body to ensure residents outside city limits are fairly represented. Under city control, he said, GRU was used as a tool to increase citywide revenue, essentially taxing non-Gainesville residents by raising rates.
The Gainesville City Commission approved a plan in 2021 to increase rates yearly until 2027, citing a lack of sufficient revenue to maintain utility systems. That same year, the commission approved a resolution to increase electric rates by 3% annually from 2023 to 2027.
Lawson said voters may oppose the board because of its ties to DeSantis. However, he said he’s never spoken to the governor or legislators during his time on the board.
“This is not on the governor’s agenda,” he said.
The city tries again
Over a year later, the second GRU referendum passed. This time, 75% voted in favor of returning utility control to the city.
The city announced plans to rewrite the legislation in June, and the authority filed its second lawsuit in August, claiming an attempt to supersede state power. The court ruled in favor of the city. When the authority tried to appeal, the court denied because the 2024 appeal was still active.
Two days after the election, though, a court granted another of the authority board’s wishes: The 2024 lawsuit appeal would need to be resolved before the city took further action.
Lawson said he is optimistic about the authority’s case against the city, but if the city wins, he would work to make the transition of power smooth.
“[GRU] is a fantastic local asset to Gainesville, and so however I can support that, I will,” he said.
Bobby Mermer is the president of Gainesville Residents United, a nonprofit focused on advocating for community issues. In that role, he led the campaign for local control of public utilities. In his eyes, the GRU Authority is just trying to extend its time.
“They're trying to hang on to power and their money as long as they can,” he said.
Mermer argued it’s important for the city to control utilities to ensure taxpayers and residents have a say in how they’re governed. While city officials may be held accountable through elections, he noted the authority board is appointed by the governor, leaving residents powerless.
Still, Mermer said he believes the GRU Authority’s case won’t succeed in court.
“I think, ultimately, the city will prevail,” he said.
What’s next?
The appeal hearing will take place Feb. 10. There, Mayor Harvey Ward expects the city’s case will surround Florida’s home rule statute, which gives local governments the right to govern themselves.
If the results of the referendum are disregarded in the GRU Authority’s favor, he said home rule would suffer a “major blow.”
“It would be abnormal for the current situation to continue,” Ward said.
If the court rules in the city’s favor, Ward said it would be the responsibility of interim City Manager Andrew Persons to take control of GRU. Persons, he said, has prepared many avenues for GRU management and ensured the city has the right personnel in place to oversee local utilities.
Persons declined to be interviewed.
Gainesville has years’ worth of plans on how to responsibly manage utilities, Ward said, and the city-run model voters passed is not uncommon. Some of Florida’s largest cities — Jacksonville, Orlando and Tallahassee — all control their own utilities.
“There is not a single example of a board of a municipal utility that is appointed exclusively by the governor, other than GRU Authority,” he said. “This is the only one that exists anywhere, and that's why it doesn't work very well.”
Contact Maria Arruda at marruda@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @mariazalfarruda.
Maria is the Fall 2025 student government reporter for the Alligator. She's a sophomore journalism and political science major at UF and hopes to work as a political correspondent one day! Maria loves to read, hang out with her friends, see her family and go to the gym in her spare time.
