What’s a GUA?
The GUA Concept
The creation of a Government Utility Authority, or GUA, is an innovative home rule mechanism available to a county or municipality to join together with other counties or municipalities to acquire, finance, own and operate a water or wastewater utility.
Florida law empowers counties and municipalities to create a separate legal entity GUA to own, operate and separately finance the purchase and operation of utility systems. Such changes allow counties and municipalities by interlocal agreement to create the charter to, own and jointly control a separate utility authority.
Although GUA is not legally a special district, it is akin to an independent multi-county special district in that it is a separate legal entity with the limited public purpose to own and operate a public utility system. As with an independent special district, the GUA is governed by a board, composed of representatives appointed by the participating local governments or any other method of appointment agreed to in an interlocal agreement.
Accordingly, the participating local governments exercise de facto control over the GUA pursuant to the terms of the interlocal agreement. However, the participating local governments to not incur any liability for GUA debt of operations.
Once created, Florida law provides that a GUA can be contractually granted, pursuant to an interlocal agreement, all powers possessed by the member local governments except the power to tax or the power of eminent domain. For example, a GUA can be granted by the member governments the power to set utility rates, levy special assessments and issue debt to finance and manage utility systems.
Additionally, the member governments also can retain certain privileges in the interlocal agreement. For example, member governments can be granted the option of acquiring previously private utility systems from the GUA, which option they can “warehouse” for an indefinite period of time. As a further example, the GUA charter can require local government approval of all capital improvements and consistency with local government comprehensive plans.
Thus, the GUA ultimately becomes a multi-jurisdictional utility operation and management vehicle for the participating local governments.