ED TAYLOR
Vice Mayor Jay Kramer found another brick wall when he attempted to address the issue of lowering city electric rates while ongoing negotiations continue to sell the Vero Beach power plant to Florida Power and Light (FPL). Kramer said that it was evident that it would take several years for the sale to finalize, citing obligations preventing the sale completion until at least October 1, 2016, and during that time the city should be attempting to provide lower electric rates to their customers. During the past few years, the council has voted to raise electric rates for city customers at least five times.
“Our focus has been on the sale rather than providing quality low-cost service to our customers,” Kramer said. “During the next several years we can sit here and warm the chairs in chambers or we can actually do something. I would prefer that we do more than just warm the chairs.”
Kramer added that every policy he has suggested thus far has been met with a brick wall. Fellow Councilmember Pilar Turner stated to the vice mayor that the rates are as low now as possible and stated that Kramer’s prior suggestions were simply not practical.
Amy Brunjes, external affairs manager for FPL, took issue with Kramer’s analysis that there could be several years before the sale is finalized, however she could not state with certainty that the city could be released from existing contracts thereby clearing the way for the sale prior to the year 2016. Brunjes stated that the sale should be concluded in “the very near future”, however when pressed she could not give any specific date or clarification of what was meant by “near future” stating only that the issues facing the sale are very complex.
The FPL spokesperson told the council that the sale of Vero Beach electric was on the January 23 agenda for the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA) meeting with a vote expected on February 20 by the board. “It is not clear and it is not obvious that nothing is going to happen,” Brunjes said. She assured the council that the city will remain whole and any costs assumed by FPL to release Vero Beach from existing contracts will be passed on to “whoever is getting the power”. She added that she would “know where we stand “after the February FMPA meeting when a vote is taken by the board.
Vice Mayor Kramer told Brunjes that FPL may have violated the existing contract by talking to FMPA about another existing contract; one between the city and the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC). Kramer stated that by violating this contract FPL in fact initiated a new contract without the approval of the city council. Kramer suggested that this interference with the OUC contract is a basis to require a new referendum and has put the city in the position of having to “start back over from scratch”. Kramer also stated that any vote taken at the FMPA board meeting in February would not be binding on the totality of the membership. Each member city of FMPA must agree if the City of Vero Beach is to be released from long-standing contractual obligations. Transfer of ownership to FPL cannot be concluded until the city is released from their pre-existing contracts.
Ms. Brunjes told the council that” we have seen something from FMPA and we are seeing if we can make it work “without providing any further details. After concluding that Kramer and Brunjes were essentially at polar opposites, Mayor Dick Winger suggested that the matter be tabled until the March meeting after the February 20 vote.
“We need to stay the course,” proclaimed the mayor. “This is not a simple thing. Nothing here is easy and these things take time.” Winger stated that there are “many things we can do to reduce the rates“ but asked that the council wait until the results of the FMPA vote on the 20th of next month before revisiting the issue.
In the meantime Winger asked City Manager Jim O’Connor to prepare a rate sufficiency analysis for review by the city finance commission at their next meeting later this month.
Vice Mayor Kramer’s motion to seek lower electric rates pending the FPL sale of the city electric system died for lack of a second.
Indian River Guardian 
Why is it that Kramer will not support the will of the city residents or the county ratepayers as they voted in the majority to sell the electric utility? He has attempted to interfere from day one. Is Kramer already planning for his next campaign by attempting to schmooze the public? He never responds to questions.
If Jay Kramer is, as you say, failing to support the will of the public, how is that an attempt to “schmooze the public”?
Wilson, Mark Mucher is quite good at sniffing out illogic. You might consider first running your comments past him.
The referendum was sold to us promising 159 million for the sale ,That seems to not be the case
now . We have been hoodwinked !
Many were fooled by the troika ,Glenn Heran and Charlie Wilson. Thanks to insidevero.com the facts are beginning to surface. I question the true motives of the “sell at any cost gang”. Many of us remember when members of the utilities commission were removed if they did not follow the Turner, Fletcher and Carroll script line by line. Simply put, if they did not parrot the views of the troika.they were fired!