MediaUpdate

​I know we like to complain about the traffic woes around our county, but if you noticed an uptick in the last week or so, it’s actually a very good thing, particularly for our restaurants, hotels and retailers. You may recall the announcement last summer that Alachua County had been awarded the World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships (WMACi), the first time this event has ever been held in the United States. The time has gone by in the blink of an eye and this world-class event, with the qualifying events leading up to it, are here.

Read more.

​One of the county’s most iconic species, Rowan said, is the sandhill crane. It serves as the mascot of the Alachua Audubon Society, with one dancing in the organization’s logo. A wall of the Alachua County Commission room is also decorated with artwork of the flying birds.

Read more.

​Alachua County, by modern standards, is characteristically un-Floridian. It has no beaches, it has no amusement parks, and it presently has no commercial citrus groves. And yet, today Alachua County is the beating heart of north central Florida. The Alachua Phenomenon will examine what made that happen over the last 200 years. In the process, the history of the county will unfold through an examination of the land, environment, agriculture, industry, education, and community. We invite you to join us and discover two centuries in Florida’s Eden.

Read more.

​Alachua County is now accepting applications from individuals interested in serving on the Children’s Trust of Alachua County (CTAC). CTAC is an independent special district with taxing authority dedicated to funding preventive, developmental, and treatment services that support the well-being of local children.

Read more.

​Alachua County Animal Services officials say their kennels are full after the shelter took in 94 dogs in just two weeks.

Watch this story.

​A woman was taken to the hospital after her home caught on fire in Alachua County on Thursday afternoon.

Watch this story.

​“There’s a 40% higher likelihood that they will survive compared to standard EMS,” said David Lykens, ACFR Captain of EMS Special Operations.

Watch this story.

​Gainesville and Alachua County issued two proclamations declaring Feb. 24 and March 1 as Library Support Day in the city and county respectively. 

Read more.

​Alachua County is excited to once again offer residents an exclusive opportunity to explore the inner workings of local government through its highly praised Citizens Academy.

Read more.

​The Challenge is open to all Alachua County residents, with a maximum of 50 teams (with up to 5 linked smartphones per team). Each team will compete to earn points by submitting photos and videos of themselves at various checkpoints, answering trivia questions, attending community events, and completing various Missions to stay a step ahead of their competition. The Challenge will begin in March, and Missions will continue to be revealed through May 2025.

Read more.

​The BOCC gave approval for Alachua County Sheriff Chad Scott to raise the salaries for sworn law enforcement officers, certified detention officers and certified detention deputies effective Feb. 1, 2024. The move would raise the starting salary to $55,000. 

Read more.

​Alachua County Animal services says it started an investigation in November when a community member sent them a photo of the property.

Watch this story.

​Alachua County Sheriff’s Office employees will receive a raise, raising the starting salary for deputies and detention officers to $55,000. This increase is part of a broader effort to address staffing shortages within the department.

Watch this story.

​50 teams of Alachua County Residents with five linked mobile devices on the Goose Chase app will compete for thousands of dollars of cash and prizes.

Read more.

​At their February 25 meeting, the Alachua County Commission heard an update from their Equity Advisory Board and agreed to an immediate 3.8% raise for deputies and correctional officers.

Read more.

Elliot Tritto
Gainesville Sun

The Alachua County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a raise for sworn law enforcement officers and certified detention officers and deputies.

Alachua County Sherriff Chad Scott said the raise, which will increase the agency's starting salary from $53,000 to $55,000 per year, will help to alleviate the sheriff office's challenges of compression wages and retention.

"If you look at the workforce, and you look at the officers that's out there today that's looking for jobs, the number one thing now, aside from talent, they're looking for is that higher wage. Some of them are looking for that bonus and they're even jumping ship to get that bonus, so wages are very important right now," Scott said.

Scott Bonafide, president of the North Central Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, the labor union representing law enforcement officers, made the salary presentation to commissioners.

Bonafide said the sheriff's office has 275 full-time deputy sheriffs and 265 full-time correctional officers earning its current starting salary at $53,000. Set to take effect in July, Bonafide said neighboring agencies like the University of Florida Police Department and the Gainesville Police Department, and the Marion and Leon County sheriff's offices will pay their officers $60,000 per year.

Maj. John Schabruch with ACSO added that there are many vacant positions that need to be filled, especially at the jail. He said the jail currently has 68 vacant positions, including detention officers, detention deputies and sworn and certified supervisor positions. Ten applicants are currently in the police academy while two are in its field training program.

Regarding law enforcement, Schabruch said 38 positions are unfilled with 11 deputy cadets going through a law enforcement training program and 14 sworn deputies currently in different phases of its training program.

"We can fund this from within the remainder of this fiscal year, and we're requesting just a commitment from the commission to fund it going forward. Then our goal, we would love to get to $57,500 in October, Schabruch said.

Patty Justice, ACSO's chief financial officer, said the raises will cost $1.4 million.

Commissioners, however, questioned the sheriff office's subsequent request of raising the salary again for next fiscal year to $57,500.

Commissioner Mary Alford filed a motion to work with the sheriff's office to see what the commission can offer next fiscal year and to develop a five-year salary plan.

After Alford's motion, Commissioner Anna Prizzia said she found it "atypical" and odd that a union would speak on behalf of the sheriff's office.

"What you're asking us to do today is to commit to a budget before we've even gone through a budget process and that also feels like really difficult and frustrating to be asked to commit to something before we've gone through our entire budget process," Prizzia said.
Prizzia said she supports competitive salaries for the sheriff's office but added the new raise might be an "advance" from next fiscal year.

Commissioner Ken Cornell agreed with Prizzia's union sentiment, but assured the sheriff's office that the commission is in full support of the raise.

Cornell did relay concerns of raising wages in dealing with the real estate market and Gov. Ron DeSantis indicating that "local government ad valorem pressure" will take place statewide.
"I don't know what the impact of that is for ad valorem, but it's a double whammy for me when I think about (fiscal year) '26 and '27 and so I want to be cautious today into any commitments but recognizing that I want to work with you all," Cornell said.

Scott ended the presentation by acknowledging the "oddness" of bringing in a president of a union to speak on behalf of the sheriff's office.

"I just wanted to show you guys that we're actually working with the PBA. We have a great relationship, as opposed to being adversaries against each other," Scott said.
Commission Chair Charles "Chuck" Chestnut IV was absent from Tuesday's meeting.