The Alachua City Commission found the City of Alachua’s spending to be in line with its 2024-2025 fiscal year budget despite a 0.02% increase, after hearing a six-month budget update during a regular meeting on Monday. 

Alachua’s accounting manager, Tyler Williams, presented the board with the budget checkpoint, which he said reflected changes for the Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, fiscal year made as of March 31. Four percent of encumbrances, 46% of expenses and 72% of funding sources had been accounted for, he said.  

The amended budget totaled $67,378,713—up $15,000 from the $67,363,713 budget originally adopted last September—with enterprise and general funds comprising 85% of the amended budget. 

The $15,000 increase came from the $4,789,616 amended special revenue fund budget, whose primary revenue source is intergovernmental revenues related to the Community Redevelopment Agency, taxes associated with the infrastructure surtax and Wild Spaces Public Places funds. 

Amended budgets of the general fund ($20,647,082), enterprise fund ($36,859,984), internal service fund ($4,243,960), debt service fund ($797,657) and capital project funds ($40,414) all matched the original adopted budget. 

Williams said the city’s total investment portfolio is just under $1.8 million, the SBA is at approximately $1.2 million, the money market and certificate of deposit total around $552,000 and cash holdings are at just under $33.2 million. The series of 2016 debt payments were the city’s only government debt, Williams said. 

When Commissioner Jacob Fletcher asked for background on the capital project fund’s uses of funding reading 108%, Williams said the amount reflected a community development block grant the city received from the Florida Department of Commerce.  

The grant is for economic development related to the Ben E. Keith distribution center, Williams said, and hasn’t come before the commission yet as the encumbrance is for an environmental review. 

“In conclusion, the city’s revenues and expenses are aligned with our budgetary fiscal plan,” Williams said. “Please keep in mind that the budget is just a plan, and if needed we are able to make adjustments as we go along.” 

After hearing multiple public comments to reconsider the city’s alcohol ordinance, the commission moved to allow Alachua City Manager Mike DaRosa to direct city staff to draft possible changes for the commission to consider. 

Resident and local business owner Michele Lee said the current restrictions on bars and lounges within a certain distance of churches on Main Street blocked the opening of breweries and bars capable of revitalizing downtown with more foot traffic to support shops and retail businesses. 

“I’ve personally brought potential tenants to vacant Main Street properties, people ready to invest in our community, only to hear the city isn’t really open for business,” Lee said. “This has to change if we want to stop losing our local dollars to other towns.” 

Resident Julie Smith said Alachua County recently adopted an ordinance allowing breweries to serve and sell their products on site in agricultural and commercial zones, and so could the city of Alachua. She said that breweries also use materials and products grown locally, which sets them apart from nightlife bar scenes. 

“We have seven breweries that have gone around Alachua County and brought over 16,000 people to those breweries to support local home brew,” she said. “These breweries are not nightlife. They’re craft beers.” 

The commission also moved to remove the appointment of the Citizen Advisory Task Force from Monday’s agenda to allow more time to readvertise the open positions before discussing it at the June 23 commission meeting. 

DaRosa said that since the initial advertisement of one vacancy for the position was posted, two more opened due to one member off boarding and another passing away. 

Alachua Deputy City Clerk LeAnne Williams also confirmed and apologized on behalf of her team for an advertising error raised by a resident at the meeting. Although the meeting agenda was posted on the city’s website and in the newspaper, she said for the first time in nine years her office didn’t promptly post physical copies around town. 

The commission also deferred a presentation on six proposed land development regulation amendments to the next regular commission meeting May 19 because of the lack of agenda advertising.  

Multiple citizens requested a special workshop to discuss the ins-and-outs of the ordinance in the meantime, but Commissioner Dayna Williams said waiting to go through details until after staff shared the presentation at the next meeting would be sufficient. 

“We know that the presentation will be coming, and at that time, we can tackle questions and other things,” she said. “I think we need to do one step of time or we’re getting ahead of ourselves.” 

Following the proclamation of May 5 as Gib Coerper Day, Alachua County Poet Laureate E. Stanley Richardson accepted a certificate from Alachua Mayor Walter Welch proclaiming May as National Poetry Month. 

DaRosa also addressed concerns of ineligible ballots from the April 8 election raised at the previous commission meeting. He said Mark Glaeser did the research to discover the ineligible votes and communicated it with Mitch Glaeser, who made the allegations in the meeting. 

DaRosa said he’d spoken with the supervisor of elections’ staff who is currently conducting an investigation into the ballots. They said the allegations made weren’t referencing how the election was conducted, but the eligibility of 10 voters with criminal records.  

During public comment, Lynn Coullias heatedly voiced her concerns over a memorandum from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement she said is floating around the city alleging crimes against juvenile boys by former city manager Adam Boukari.  

As a Hague resident of 44 years, widow and mother of two sons, Coullias said she’s “downright angry” about Boukari, who she said the city should remove from accessing anything in the city involving residents’ tax dollars. 

“I’m telling you right now, Ben Boukari, Adam Boukari, Bryan Boukari, need to leave this town,” she said stepping back from the podium microphone to shout. “Something was wrong, and nobody did a damn thing about it…You all are guilty.” 

Fletcher suggested implementing a sign-in sheet for City Hall to track who has access. 

The next regular Alachua City Commission meeting will be a joint meeting with the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners at 6 p.m. on May 19 at Alachua City Hall (15100 NW 142 Terr., Alachua).