The City Commission voted unanimously to ask the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority (GRU) for full itemization and explanation of legal and related expenses the authority has billed against the city transfer for fiscal years 2023–2025.

Commissioners said an unaudited end‑of‑fiscal‑year report showed significant deductions from the GRU general‑services contribution earmarked to offset GRU legal expenses. Finance staff noted the city received about $7.1 million of an $8.5 million agreed transfer; commissioners identified two large ongoing deductions: a roughly $1.13 million payment related to a multi‑decade street‑lights contract and a series of legal‑fee deductions (about $313,398 in FY25 and roughly $400,000 in FY24) that the commission said were billed by GRU while GRU itself was litigating against the city.

Commissioner Eastman, Commissioner Book, Commissioner Engle and others described the practice as inconsistent with normal municipal accounting and asked for transparency: itemized invoices, travel charges, consulting fees and meeting‑preparation costs tied to the billed legal work, along with an explanation for why the authority believes such costs should be passed to city taxpayers. The commission also asked the mayor to send the letter and requested that GRU stop deducting those legal fees from the city transfer while the parties work through the request for detail.

City attorneys noted the commission’s options are constrained by the current intergovernmental arrangements and the authority’s ability to withhold or deduct sums from the transfer, but supported sending a formal request for itemization and explanation. The commission recorded the request as unanimous with Commissioner Duncan Walker absent.

What happens next: Mayor Ward will send the letter directed by the commission; commissioners said they may pursue further oversight or audit avenues depending on GRU’s response and on developments in pending litigation.