COMMENTARY

“Shores officials, who represent some of the wealthiest residents in the county, if not the country, seem unconcerned about appearing to be slipping away in the only remaining lifeboat.  Whatever is on display at Shores Town Council meetings these days it is not chivalry.”

MARK SCHUMANN

Attorneys representing the City of Vero Beach and the Town of Indian River Shores may soon have a date for squaring off before a judge – if, that is, the Shore’s case against Vero Beach is not first referred by the courts to the Florida Public Service Commission.

Today, Shores and Vero Beach officials, along with representatives for the Indian River County Commission, completed a six-month charade of pretending to mediate irreconcilable grievances.  Essentially, Shores and County officials contend Vero Electric’s rates are unreasonable.  They further argue the only rates that will be acceptable are charges comparable to Florida Power & Light.

Vero Beach officials, along with special counsel Schef Wright, have been working to renegotiate the City’s wholesale power agreement with the Orlando Utilities Commission and to identify other opportunities for cutting costs. Even if City officials pursue every possible cost-cutting measure, it is clear Vero Electric’s rates will remain above those of FPL for the foreseeable future.

Two out of 10 Shores residents are served by FPL. Town officials argue it is untenable for the remainder of their residents to be paying some 20 percent more for power.  Even if the rate gap between Vero Electric and FPL can be cut in half, as Wright has argued is possible, the remaining differential, Shores officials have said, will be unacceptable to them and to their constituents.

A central issue raised in the Town’s lawsuit is the contention that the Shores Town Council, and not the Florida Public Service Commission, has the legal authority and the responsibility to determine who will provide electrical service within the Shores. Recently, the Indian River County Commission made a similar argument before the PSC.  The PSC emphatically and unequivocally rejected the County’s claim of superior jurisdiction over utility service territory rights.

Parallel to pursuing litigation against Vero Beach, Shores officials are talking with representatives of FPL about a so-called “partial purchase” of Vero Electric’s Shores customers.  Even if such a sale could be negotiated, the move would leave Vero Electric’s remaining out-of-city customers without comparable rate relief.

Shores officials, who represent some of the wealthiest residents in the county, if not the country, seem unconcerned about appearing to be slipping away in the only remaining lifeboat.  Whatever is on display at Shores Town Council meetings these days it is not chivalry.

FPL’s vice president of external affairs for the Treasure Coast, and wife of Press Journal publisher Bob Brunjes, said today the company should be prepared to make an offer within the next few weeks.  Any “partial purchase” would require renegotiating, if not canceling, FPL’s existing purchase and sale agreement with Vero Beach.  That contract is set to expire the end of next year.

Vero Beach officials have already expressed serious reservations about cutting a side deal with the Shores that would leave unaddressed the concerns of the remaining out-of-city customers, including Dr. Stephen Faherty and others on the south barrier island. Though Faherty has been cheering the Shores along, his friends in the wealthy north barrier island enclave maybe be maneuvering to leave him out in the cold.

Ignoring appearances and realities, Shores officials this afternoon voted to proceed with their lawsuit against Vero Beach. Should the case make it to court, it will almost surely lead lengthy and hugely expensive litigation, litigation that may ultimately be decided by the Florida Supreme Court. Vero Electric customers will pay the City’s legal bills. Shores residents may be facing a tax increase, as the Town is already close to depleting its unrestricted reserves on on legal bills approaching $250,000. Going forward, the Shores’ legal bills could dwarf what has been spent to date.

Let’s face it.  Given their disinclination to work together for win-win solutions, if Shores and County officials were governing superpowers, the world would be at war.