(This story has been updated to correct inaccurate information.)
The plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority board abruptly dismissed the action on July 2, the same day an Alachua County judge was scheduled to take up the issue.
Gainesville Residents United board members Robert (Bobby) Mermer and Jason Bellamy-Fults filed the lawsuit on Feb 3, arguing that the results of a November 2024 referendum should return control of the utility back to the city of Gainesville.
Mermer told The Sun they “voluntarily” dropped the case at the last minute after GRUA’s attorney, Kristen Ballou, brought to their attention prior state rulings that determined citizens can’t litigate or sue over an issue that has already been decided by a court.
“If the city sues or is sued over an issue like the right of the city to hold a referendum and wins or loses, citizens of that city are not allowed to sue on that same controversy or same issue,” Mermer said.
The lawsuit stated that GRU has served the city since 1912 and that its residential electors have always exercised political control over the city’s municipal utility system through their elected municipal office.
“HB 1645 (the bill that created the authority) upended that close relationship between the electors and their utility systems as the individuals controlling GRU are no longer subject to the control of the City Commission, but fall under the authority of an unelected, unrepresentative Board selected by Governor DeSantis,” the lawsuit read.
The lawsuit referenced the November 2024 referendum in which 72.5% of city voters voted in favor of amending the city’s charter and dismantling the board.
Following an injunction filed by the authority, Judge George M. Wright of the Eighth Judicial Circuit later ruled to nullify the ballot initiative due to “misleading language. Wright, however, also ruled that city has the right to amend its charter as Florida statute gives the city “home rule of an admissible corporation.”
The city of Gainesville has appealed the judge’s ruling on the ballot language, while the authority has appealed the judge’s ruling on home rule, arguing that the Florida Legislature’s passing of HB 1645 supersedes any decisions made at the local level.
Since then, the city commission has voted to hold a special election — at a cost of about $250,000 — with reworded ballot language in November. The authority has filed another injunction in an effort to halt the initiative.
Mermer admitted that he partially agreed to dismiss the case because he believes the city’s second referendum will pass in November.
Warm wrote in an email that the dismissal of the lawsuit on July 2 is one less distraction for GRU management as the board remains focused on making utility bills more affordable for customers.
“We have seen a dramatic reduction in residential electric bills over the past two years and will continue to put all customers first,” Warm said.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County Labor Coalition coordinators drop lawsuit against GRU Authority
Reporting by Elliot Tritto, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
