BY MILT THOMAS
One story dominating local news for some time is the sale of Vero Electric to FPL. Arguments for and against the sale have been presented, reported, debated, dissected, obfuscated and elucidated. The most popular argument in favor of a sale is that the cost of electricity will be substantially lower. Most Vero Electric customers live on the mainland where the jobs are. Electric bills represent a much greater burden for people in low paying jobs, fixed income retirees and the unemployed. A reduction in electric bills is a more powerful incentive to them than it is to professionals or high net worth retirees.
The most substantial argument against a sale seems to be economic impact, both as a direct result of the deal currently being negotiated and long term on the city’s revenue.
But sometimes the real story could be what isn’t presented, reported, debated, etc.
When I was a teenager, we used to call this town Zero Beach. I’m sure teens before me and since, right up to present day refer to it as such. Zero Beach. Nothing happening. Kids can’t wait to get out of town.
Of course, most of my fellow high school students – including me – ended up back here because we realized Vero was a great place to raise kids, live and retire. However, we never in our wildest dreams ever considered that someday Vero might be called Zero because it no longer exists.
We know the sale of the Vero Electric creates a revenue shortfall that must be made up somehow. The potential sale of our water and sewer system to the county would also create a revenue deficit for the city. If both scenarios came to pass, is it possible that the economic impact on Vero Beach would be impossible to overcome?
Yes, taxes could be raised to replace revenue shortfalls, but who in the City of Vero Beach wants to pay higher taxes? Budget cuts can only go so far before affecting the city services that make our community such a great place to live.
However, many of those services are already provided by the county outside city limits. If they took over our water and sewer, couldn’t they also take over our parks and beaches, garbage collection, planning and other services that now come out of city hall? What about the police department? Oh, that’s right, the county has a sheriff’s department, too.
A worst case scenario would be disincorporation, dissolving the city charter and just becoming part of Indian River County. Other cities around the country both large and small have considered such a move during the depths of the Great Recession.
Is it really possible that Vero Beach could no longer exist? I doubt it. Vero Beach is like a valuable franchise thanks to the Piper, beaches and golf courses, and the Dodgers having trained here for so many years. There is too much value in the Vero Beach name to let it vanish.
Vero will always exist. But what could change are the city’s boundaries. A smaller, more compact city could emerge out of all this, but where? Well, our town isn’t called “Vero Mainland” is it.
Indian River Guardian 
Say it isn’t so! I love Vero Beach.
Dear Mr. Thomas, Thanks for bringing more perspective to these issues. Why hasn’t Vero Beach selectively incorporated areas where it supplies utilities? I wish we could get annexed into the city. We love Vero Beach!
Cities do not annex sections of counties unless the area requests such.
It has been said that Vero Beach should have required annexation into the city to receive services such as water, sewer and electric. Other cities have done so.
With that in mind, any section of the county that directly connects to the city may request to be annexed. There is of course a process to follow.
All the doom and gloom is unnecessary. The merits of the proposed sale should be able to stand on their own. Bringing nostaglia and emotion into the community discussion does nothing beneficial.
My husband and I deliberately choose to retire to Vero Beach precisely because we heard teenagers calling the community “Zero Beach.” On our return home after our brief vacation/house hunting trip, we subscribed to the Vero Press Journal to gain more insight into the community. That experience highlighted that “Zero Beach” was what we wanted in our retirement. In our case the absence of crime was a big factor after city dwellers all of our lives. Reading the small listings published from the police blotter sealed the deal.
There is simply no mechanism for the City of Vero Beach to change substantially simply because of a change in the source of its utility provider to an energy corporation that has the lowest rates in Florida. The same is true of participation in the Seven50.org coalition. which is a common sense regional approach to solving comparable problems. It is time to wake up and use the resources of the 21st century that can improve the lives of the residents of Indian River County.