Alachua County offers residents a unique opportunity to take a deep dive into various aspects of local government through its Citizens Academy. Run by Strategic Performance Manager Donna Bradbrook, the eight-week educational course partners with local constitutional officers, judicial officers, library district, school board and health department and provides transparency by giving participants a behind-the-scenes look at the performed daily by some of the county’s top officials.
As a newer hire at Alachua County, I opted to join the Citizens Academy and share weekly updates on my experience to encourage others to sign up in the future.
Alachua County’s spring Citizens Academy class kicked off Thursday with approximately 70 people shuffling into the newly opened Fire Rescue Training Facility (5801 NW 34th Blvd., Gainesville) to learn more about the functions of Alachua County government.
The meeting started with comments from Alachua County Commission Chair Mary Alford, who graduated from the eight-week course before running for office. She is one of four current commissioners to go through the program.
“I never thought I was going to run for office, and then I sat through this class,” she told the room. “I really enjoyed learning about local government … It was eye-opening to me.”
Government structure
After Alford, County Manager Michele Lieberman introduced herself and talked about her professional background, what brought her to Alachua County and why she loves it. She provided participants with an understanding of the structure of county government, its departments, commission district lines, other municipalities and their population sizes and a budgetary overview. She also shared historical facts, such as the county being founded in 1824 and how the population has massed 293,000 residents – up nearly 70,000 from just 10 years ago.
Lieberman fielded questions about taxes and the impact of the University of Florida’s growth over the years. She talked about the need for providing services to the increased student population and that Alachua County is proud to have reduced its millage rate for seven consecutive years, a trend she hopes to continue with her next budget.
Legal
County Attorney Sylvia Torres gave the room an overview of the complex and variety of work her department performs. Among the many services Torres’ office is involved with include public records requests, finance, legal claims, contracts, bidding, code enforcement issues, land purchases, endangered species and historic preservation. She presented several scenarios to the room for them to consider, but added each situation is unique and depends on a range of other factors.
The office has seven attorneys in total who represent the Board of County Commissioners, county manager and staff, Supervisor of Elections Office, Tax Collector’s Office and various other boards.
Budget
Budget Manager Maureen Rischitelli had the tall order of breaking down the county’s budget and explaining how taxes fund various services, such as public safety, transportation, facilities and community support services and more.
The fun started when she broke the room into groups and gave each team $250 million in fake money to divide across various departments. The exercise explained where money comes from and where it goes.
While some in the room shared that the taxes seem high, they were reminded that Alachua County is around the middle of the pack across Florida’s 67 counties, a state that ranks 45th in the lowest tax burden on individuals in the nation.
Communications
Communications Director Mark Sexton wrapped up the day by offering context to various lingering topics previously discussed, such as taxes and roads.
He showed people how to stay better informed with the latest news in Alachua County at a time when local news resources are dwindling. He showed the room how to navigate the county website, where to find public notices, sign up for press releases, read feature stories, view upcoming meeting agendas and where to watch past and live meetings.
Sexton expressed how proud he is of the county’s commitment to transparency and how his office encourages building relationships with the public, as well as media outlets, by answering questions and providing records as quickly as possible.
“I’m very glad that we’ve built a reputation that we are one of the most responsive local governments that folks have ever worked with,” he told the room.
Following Thursday’s session, attendees packed up their binders and chatted with others about what they learned that day. Several people shared that they signed up simply to know more about their local government, some even being county employees or how the county functions.
“I heard this was a very wonderful way of looking at the county’s operations,” said Paula Waterman, who added that she looks to learn about parks and protecting land.
For more information, contact Alachua County Public Information Officer Andrew Caplan at 352-264-6975 or
acaplan@alachuacounty.us.
