COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
“This is outrageous,” George Christopher told the City Council last night, after Councilwoman Pilar Turner and civic activist Charlie Wilson lambasted Vice Mayor Jay Kramer for communicating with Barry Moline, director of the Florida Municipal Electrical Association. The FMEA is an association of the state’s municipally owned utilities.
Wilson and Turner stopped just short of accusing Kramer of treason. “I am concerned when a council member is sleeping with the enemy,” Wilson said, adding, “I think the question is, whose side are you on?”
“I’m trying to get the rates down. That’s the side I’m on,” Kramer responded.
Both Turner and Wilson, who seemed to be coordinating an ambush of Kramer, attacked him for communicating with the head of an association whose membership is hardly in favor of seeing Florida Power & Light march across the state acquiring municipal utilities, as utility activist Glenn Heran has advocated. Last year, FPL CEO Eric Silagy told a group of investors that such acquisitions represent a growth opportunity for FPL. (See Related Story)
In response to Turner and Wilson, Christopher said, “I have never heard or experienced anything like this. I hope you elected officials talk to people that can give you information, whether they are the enemy, pro, con. I hope you learn. To suggest that a council member should not talk to somebody is outrageous. This is why wars occur. I’m shocked.”
John Wester followed Christopher, saying, “I’ve talked to a lot of people about this and I have yet to meet anybody that thinks Jay was out of line.”
Later in the meeting, the Council took up Kramer’s request to ask the Finance Commission and the Utilities Commission to study the advisability of financing future capital projects, rather than paying for them out of cash as the Council has done since deciding to sell the electric system. Paying cash for capital projects, rather than financing them, requires higher electric rates.
Kramer explained that he is not advocating taking on more debt, but of maintaining the electric system’s current level of indebtedness until an eventual closing, which will likely not happen until late 2016, at the earliest.
In a 4-1 vote, councilman Craig Fletcher opposed asking the Finance Commission and the Utilities Commission to study Kramer’s proposal.
While Turner and Wilson expressed indignation that Kramer has sought and continues to seek information about the status of the negotiations wherever he can get it, what they are more deeply objecting to is Kramer’s unwillingness to march lock step with them down one dead end path after another.
It is now painfully and undeniably clear that Turner and Fletcher, along with Tracy Carroll, signed and recommended to voters last spring a sales contract that is deeply flawed, and which cannot possibly be executed without significant revisions. To use a couple of cliches, they had not done their homework and they did not have their ducks in a row. Carroll has left the stage. Fletcher is remaining mum. Turner is pointing fingers.
I continue to believe the will of an informed public should – must – be honored. While it is true voters last spring approved the purchase and sale agreement between the City and FPL, it is also true that the agreement has many holes in it and will need substantial revisions. Thus, another referendum will be required.
I cannot help but wonder how many Vero Beach voters made up their minds about the sale of Vero Electric back in 2009, when utility activists Glenn Heran and Dr. Steven Faherty were making the rounds presenting a financial model projecting the City would net (Net!) $156.5 million on the sale. In fact, the City will be lucky to net $3 million.
Faherty and Heran were telling anyone who would listen the City would actually be able to sell its interests in three FMPA power projects for $56.5 million. As it turns out, the City will have to pay $34 million in cash to get the OUC to assume its position in Stanton I, Stanton II and St. Lucie Two as of Jan. 1, 2018.
The 34,000 customers of Vero Electric may also have to pay a surcharge for a number of years to cover the cost of offloading Vero Beach’s FMPA power entitlement before Jan. 2018.
Heran and Faherty also failed to account for the $20 million the city is having to pay the OUC to terminate the wholesale power agreement. Amazingly, the Faherty/Heran model also showed the City paying Vero Electric $10 million for the power plant site. According to Heran and Faherty, the city was going to pay itself $10 million dollars. Now, where was that money going to come from?
I don’t think it is at all a stretch to liken Kramer’s persistent questioning of the sale to Winston Churchill’s courageous opposition to the appeasement policies of the government of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. In his own way, Kramer has been equally determined and courageous, standing almost as a lone voice among public officials in his opposition to a deal he believes is bad for the City and for its residents and taxpayers.
Indian River Guardian 
Here is what is happening. For years we were told there would be between $150,000,000 (Glenn Heran) , $90,000,000 (Charlie Wilson) to $34,000,000 left from the sales of the electric company with no tax increase and people were very happy about that and voted that way. Now when it is time to pay up we find that for four years they have either been lied to or these guys have no idea what they were talking about. The vast majority of people who voted for the sale under a false pretense feel they have been duped and said they would not now nor would they have voted for the sale under these conditions. To go even further now we find out FPL wants us to pay a surcharge and we will either have to raise taxes or lower our quality of life has sent thousands of voters over the edge. The voters are mad and want someone accountable. Firing darts at Jay Kramer who was the canary in the coal mine only angers these voters more.
Someone needs to remind Charlie Wilson that he is not an elected official. His time with a microphone should be as limited as any other member of the public.
No one should give any serious thought to any comments offered by Charlie Wilson because he destroyed his credibility when he violated the law by giving false information about his residency.
Even the fact that Charlie Wilson gets away with only giving a P. O. Box number while other members of the public are required to give their address in public discussions is yet another example of how he is given rights that are not given to any other private citizen.
Charlie Wilson owes Jay Kramer a public apology because of his “sleeping with the enemy remark.”
I second what Mr. Wester says! I’m even more upset with THEM than I was with Mrs. Carroll.
Pat, what happened list night when Turner and Wilson tag-teamed to attack Kramer was pure politicking. Wilson seems to be abusing his right to speak before the Council as a way of campaigning for the net election. Wilson so wants to be sitting at the dais, from which he was removed by court order, that he simply cannot help himself.
The script has been written.
Debbie Mayfield is covering the state issues and is writing legislation against the interests of the City of Vero Beach, Bob Solari has the county covered and is using your county taxes to fund lobbyists acting against the interests of Vero Beach. Heran, Faherty, Wilson, Carrol, Turner and their host of minions and all dancing to the music of FPL contrary to the interests of the City of Vero Beach.
Beware, this fall you may expect an attempt at a hostile takeover of the City of Vero Beach, funded by FPL and to the advantage of developers who want control of the waterfront property in Vero Beach after they disincorporate the city.