Former Archer City Commissioner Joan White spoke as a resident during the city’s final budget hearing on Wednesday to voice concerns over financial protocol failures that left the city vulnerable to recent theft, furthering its ongoing debt.
White, who resigned from the commission earlier this month, did not explain her departure but said she met with City Manager Deanna Alltop on Sept. 15 to discuss issues with a code to an employee door and the city’s process for depositing money.
She said present and past city employees, their family members, cleaning persons and deputies had access to the door because the code hadn’t been changed in five years. Although the key to the safe room was hidden, she said all employees knew where it was.
The expansive access poses a timely concern after authorities arrested White’s 34-year-old nephew and former accountant for the city, Justin Southard, this month for stealing more than $14,000 from Archer.
City Attorney Scott Walker said there’s no formal plan yet for how the city will recover the money, but that it would look first to the insurance claim and criminal restitution before spending its own resources to do so.
White said she also asked Alltop during their meeting if there was any protocol for verifying accounts and money deposits. Alltop said there wasn’t.
White suggested Alltop’s daily receipts be checked by multiple employees for overages and shortages and that each step of the deposit process should be approved in writing by the city manager.
After Duke Energy called during their meeting to inform staff they’d be cutting off two locations within the city for non-payment, White said she told Alltop she needed help as city manager because there are too many things not getting done in the city.
When she came back the next day, White said the employee door code still hadn’t been changed and she was blocked from leaving for almost half an hour during an incident with one of Alltop’s employees.
“Several times I said, ‘Let me leave.’ I was followed outside by a crying and screaming employee,” she said. “This was all witnessed by [Alltop], who did nothing to intervene and control her employee. Interestingly, the next morning, she and I held a meeting with employees. The result of that meeting was suspended until further notice. I believe one could perceive this as an unethical retaliation.”
Alltop said on Wednesday that the employee door had been given a new code and that it was standard procedure for staff to know where the safe key was. She said White’s story might not be the truth and that she has her own side of what happened, although she did not share it.
Resident Karen Fiore said the lack of transparency and accountability from the city was disgustingly disappointing.
“The fact that everyone knew where that key was is scary,” she said. “The state came to us and told us how terribly we were doing our jobs, and we still continue to do it the same old way. No accountability. You, mayor, commissioners, you need to take responsibility.”
A special election will be held Nov. 18 to fill White’s empty Seat One through the end of her three-year term in 2026. The qualifying period for candidates will begin at noon on Oct. 1 and end at noon on Oct. 15.
The commission also unanimously approved its 2025-26 budget, which includes a 6.4322 millage rate. The rate is nearly 16% higher than its current 5.5479 millage and over 21% higher than its 5.2910 rollback rate. Dallas Lee, who constructed Archer’s new budget, said the millage is expected to generate $66,000 during the year.
State Rep. Chad Johnson, R-Chiefland, attended Wednesday’s meeting and said he’s glad Gov. Ron DeSantis hadn’t been in a hurry to remove a charter from Archer, which has been around since the 1850s.
Johnson said he understood Archer’s problems wouldn’t get resolved overnight, but that the commission would have to be held accountable by its constituents in order to fix them.
“Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make some very tough decisions on being fiscally conservative, or your constituents are going to be taxed to the point where they no longer want to be residents. And that’s not good for any of us,” he said.