GRU Authority files for temporary injunction over referendum that could dissolve board

The Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority board on Monday filed an emergency motion for a temporary injunction in an effort to keep the GRU oversight referendum off of the Nov. 5 General Election ballot.

The motion notes an expedited hearing is necessary as the Authority believes the referendum language has been sent to the Supervisor of Election's Office for placement on the ballot. If unable to keep the referendum off the ballot, the motion asks that the court stop the "City from enforcing the Proposed Charter Amendment until the resolution of this case on the merits."

Aaron Klein, the Alachua County Elections Office's director of communications and outreach, told The Sun Wednesday that the referendum is on the ballot, and that mail-in ballots are being sent out on Thursday.

The ballot measure will allow voters in November to decide whether to delete the article of the city’s charter that created the authority. The amendment to the city’s charter was made with the Florida Legislature's passing of HB 1645, a bill filed by Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry.

Related coverage:Ballot amendments endorsed by the African American Accountability Alliance of Alachua County

The emergency motion follows a complaint filed earlier this month by GRU Authority attorneys Folds Walker LLC and Theriaque & Spain that "argues that the ballot measure violates the Special Act of the Legislature that created the authority."

According to the GRU press release announcing the complaint, the complaint seeks to:

• Declare the proposed charter amendment passed by the Gainesville City Commission in June 2024 null and void.
•  Keep the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office from placing the referendum on the November ballot.
•  Keep the city of Gainesville from enforcing the referendum if it is placed on the ballot.

The complaint also argues that the ballot language is "misleading" because it doesn't specify who would take over control of GRU decisions in the event the authority is dissolved or to whom the utility's general manager would report.

After the complaint was filed, City Commissioner Bryan Eastman in an email called the board's effort "absurd."

"The ballots have already been printed and the people will decide in November who they want running their local public utilities: Gov Ron DeSantis or the local ratepayers. If we want a utility that is affordable, sustainable, and community-focused we need one that is accountable to the actual ratepayers, not political appointees of the governor. That's just common sense. This GRU Authority knows that, and that's why they're so desperate to keep this off the ballot," he wrote.