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12/16/2014 (4)
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12/16/2014 (4)
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Meetings
Meeting Type
BCC Joint Meeting
Document Type
Minutes
Meeting Date
12/16/2014
Meeting Body
Board of County Commissioners
Town of Indian River Shores
City of Vero Beach
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• <br />bring its rates down comparable to FPL because of the City's predecessors who have locked the <br />City into a long-term power supply; and 3) the City continues to set its rates at a level which <br />caused the Town and other captive non-resident customers to produce millions of dollars of <br />surplus electric revenue, which the City transfers to its general operating fund. <br />Attorney May "said that faced with those three realities, the Town believes the City no <br />longer has the power or the will to independently manage its electric utility business and thus <br />unable to assure that the Town and its citizens would receive fair and reasonable priced service <br />over the 'long term. He said the City to date has not acknowledged that the Town has an equally <br />independent fundamental interest and responsibility to protect its citizens from unfair rates and <br />utility prices. He continued that the legislature has given the Town specific expressed statutory <br />powers too provide electric service to its inhabitants by either providing the service itself, or by <br />contracting with other utility providers. He said the core issue was not the high rates, but <br />municipal law and whether the City had the right to assert extra -territorial monopoly electric <br />powers and abstract monopoly rates after the franchise agreement expires in November 2016. <br />He referred to Florida Statutes Section 180.02, Powers of Municipalities. <br />Attorney May indicated the Town had been working on ways to solve this issue for the <br />interest of all parties. He asked the City to consider respecting the rights of the Town to furnish <br />electricity to its residents, pursuant to the express powers granted to the Town in the Laws of <br />Florida, Chapter 29163. <br />Indian River County's Opening Statement <br />Peter O'Bryan, Indian River County Board of County Commissioners, stated the <br />County's long held best solution in the City's electric issue was the full and complete sale of the <br />utility to FPL. He opined the City showed a lack of will to make a 100% commitment to <br />complete the sale, or to explore all options due to their reluctance to pass along tax increases to <br />the citizens of Vero Beach, or to give up their subsidies to the general fund. The County felt <br />with the restrictions of the Florida Municipal Power Agency (FMPA), the City had no leverage <br />being under contract with the FMPA, or bargaining position, and was forced to accept these <br />contracts that continue to perpetuate additional costs passed on to the ratepayers and not the <br />taxpayers. <br />The City of Vero Beach's Opening Statement <br />Robert Scheffel "Schef' Wright, the City's Outside Counsel, stated the City's electric <br />rates were higher than they wished. He said the decisions by the City throughout the years had <br />put them in the position they were in today in terms of electric rates. He reiterated the City was <br />committed to doing everything they could to reduce the electric rates. <br />Attorney Wright pointed out the City signed a contract to sell the whole electric system to <br />FPL and he expounded, "you just cannot walk away from a contract". He explained that the City <br />and the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) had an agreement with FMPA, of which OUC <br />Town of Indian River Shores - City of Vero Beach - Indian River County <br />Electric Utilities Mediation <br />December 17, 2014 <br />Page 3 <br />
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