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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 50
Days Until Christmas
$2
DECEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 22, 2022
Ocala Electric Utilities may have to increase rates again Cheryl Goldner, Saddlewood Elementary
Jamie Roche, Maplewood Elementary
Jenneffer Bachmaier, Hammett Bowen
By Makayla Gray makayla@ocalagazette.com
Teacher of the Year
finalists for 2023 announced
John Gibb, Lake Weir High
Lindsey Bigelow, Ocala Springs Elementary
Nedra Huggins. Belleview Middle School
By Caroline Brauchler caroline@ocalagazette.com
Nedra Huggins from Belleview Middle School and Jamie Roche from Maplewood Elementary School all are finalists to be crowned Marion County Public School’s top teacher for 2023. In addition, Jennifer Bachman from Hammett L. Bowen Jr. Elementary School won the 2023 Rookie Teacher of the Year. Erin Webber, a guidance clerk and front desk receptionist from Fort McCoy School, won the MCPS School-Related Employee of the Year. The Above and Beyond Award went to Mark White, a technical service and school maintenance
worker at Vanguard High School. The nomination process begins when each school selects its choices for Teacher and Rookie Teacher of the Year. All of these teachers create a written portfolio that is reviewed by a committee who narrows down candidates and conducts interviews to make the final selection of nominees, said Meghan Magamoll, executive director of the Public Education Foundation. “The Golden Apple program is able to
S
ix special teachers received a big surprise in their classrooms on Friday: a golden apple. This was no ordinary apple—the award signified the educators’ nominations for 2023 Teacher of the Year and one teacher’s award as the 2023 Rookie Teacher of the Year. Lindsey Bigelow from Ocala Springs Elementary School, John Gibb from Lake Weir High School, Cheryl Goldner from Saddlewood Elementary School,
See Golden Apple, page A2
Ocala’s fire fee strategies were flawed from inception to $80 million judgment Eight years of closed-door deliberations between Ocala City Council members and their attorneys on this controversial episode are revealed. By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
N
ewly released transcripts of closed-door meetings between the Ocala City Council and its legal representatives pull back the curtain on how city leaders for years devised various strategies for handling the city’s controversial fire service user fee litigation. It’s not a pretty read. From indications that the legal experts urged the council to blaze a trail on shaky legal grounds to initiate a first-of-its-kind user fee, to extensive damage control efforts when the ground began to crumble, to disparaging personal attacks on opposing counsel, the records show a legal team more intent on litigating until the bitter end than admitting they were wrong.
Assistant City Attorney, Patrick Gilligan, speaks during an Ocala City Council meeting at Ocala City Hall in on Sept. 20. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
The 2006 city council decision to impose a monthly fire service fee on roughly 89,000 Ocala Electric Utility customers prompted a 2014 class-action suit that challenged the legality of the fee. An appellate court ultimately found the fees constituted
an illegal tax, and in 2021, a judge ordered the city to devise a way to refund $80 million to affected utility customers. The city struggled to find the money for the refunds, at one point
E
lectric utilities around Florida are poised to ring in the new year with rate hikes, and indications are that the Ocala Electric Utility may join those utilities in increasing their customers’ monthly bills. While no new rate increase has been announced, rates rose steadily this year and, despite that, Ocala is facing a roughly $25 million deficit in the amount of revenue versus costs of generating electricity this fiscal year. “The city’s final fuel cost for FY22 totaled $147,625,935 of which the city recovered $123,411,633, leaving the total under-collected balance of $24,214,302,” said Ashley Dobbs, the City of Ocala’s communications manager. She said city officials are evaluating if additional fuel cost recovery payments will be needed. OEU is not alone among Florida utilities in dealing with economic pressures. Duke Energy, Florida Public Utilities Co., and Tampa Electric Co. are all set to increase customers’ rates beginning in January 2023. Rates already have been rising for OEU customers. The electrical Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) rate has tripled since the start of 2022. In January, OEU consumers were paying $0.01400 as the PCA rate. In February, the rate doubled to $0.02800 and remained there until the end of May. In June it rose again, to $0.05600, and this is what customers of OEU have been paying since then. These cost increases were put in place to combat volatile fuel prices. The city also has been tapping into its Rate Stabilization Reserve (RSR), which is designed to help when unanticipated fuel costs arise and need to be compensated without drastically affecting the consumers’ bills. OEU gets billed by Florida Municipal Power Agency for its utility costs. Consumer payments generate revenue that is given partially to the city account and partially to fund the RSR. The RSR has approximately $12.9 million as of the end of November. However, this is not enough as the October PCA projection report shows the $25 million shortfall. This deficit has been on the rise since July, with more money coming out of the RSR than going in. Ocala City Council member James Hilty said that per council orders, the amount of money in the RSR should be between 15% to 25% of the annualized collection in a given year.
See Fire Fee, page A4
See Electric, page A2
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Fire Union...................................... A2 Reassess Growth........................... A3 Magic Horse................................... B1 Sports.............................................. B9 Calendar......................................... B7
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