The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) arrested recently-terminated city of Archer employee Justin Southard, 34, on Tuesday for grand theft.
According to ACSO, an Archer employee discovered more than $14,400 in missing cash deposits over a three-month period. Southard was found responsible and arrested after an investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
In a September 2025 report, interim City Manager Deanna Alltop notified staff that Southard was no longer with the city and an accounting position had been listed as open.
The city of Archer has faced a financial crisis in the last year, firing its former city manager and informing the governor’s office of the dire straits. The city hired a consultant and has slowly worked to improve its footing and repay debtors. In May, the city asked Alachua County for a loan.
Multiple citizens commented on Southard’s arrest during a regular City Commission meeting on Wednesday.
Gene Arnold said he felt terrible for Alltop to have been betrayed by her right-hand employee. He said he appreciated her exposing Southard and that he hoped justice would be served and the city recoup the lost money.
“I guess it’s inevitable that you get some help,” Arnold said. “I’ve been talking about that for a long time, to hire someone, get another pair of eyeballs to watch over and be a good steward to give everyone transparency.”
Bill Lewandowski said previous mismanagement, theft and now Southard’s arrest pointed to systemic issues in the city that needed to be addressed. He called on the commission to take action against the former city manager after failing to do so for over a year, and to work together with citizens on taking action against the former employees moving forward.
“If we don’t fix it, somebody’s going to fix it for us, without a doubt,” said Lewandowski.
City Attorney Scott Walker said his firm was invested in helping Archer overcome its challenges and would make a note to pursue litigation against the necessary former employees.
Mayor Fletcher Hope encouraged Alltop to place items like the litigation on future commission meeting agendas to further the discussion.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comments from the Sept. 10 commission meeting.