The Archer City Commission voted on Monday to keep Fletcher Hope as mayor for another year, Iris Bailey as vice mayor and selected Donald Barber as its permanent part-time city manager.  

Barber’s nomination was the only unanimous approval. The commission voted 3-2 for Hope as mayor, with Bailey and Commissioner Marilyn Green in dissent, and 4-1 for Bailey as vice mayor, with Commissioner Karen Fiore in dissent.  

Bailey said under Hope’s leadership, she wanted meetings to run “smoother.” She felt last year the commission wasn’t equitable and fair with citizens because some were given more than the allotted three minutes to speak during public comment.  

Bailey said at times she felt she needed to grab the gavel to stop extra chatter in the audience, which interferes with the recording and prolongs the meeting. 

Fiore agreed with Bailey but added that Bailey and all commissioners also need to abstain from mumbling when citizens are talking. 

Archer interviewed four candidates for the city manager position. Former Hawthorne City Manager John Martin has been interim manager for three weeks after Deanna Alltop, who’d served as interim part-time city manager and deputy city clerk for the city, took an indefinite medical leave of absence. 

Martin was a candidate for the permanent position, but the commission voted for Barber, who was ranked as the top choice, with a Feb. 10 start date. 

Barber is a resident of Citra and has been a public works and utilities administrator for the city of Williston since 2018, according to his application. He also worked for four years as a wastewater plant operator and water technician for the Marion County Board of County Commissioners. 

Barber said he’d be willing to work for free for a month or two if it meant Martin could stay on to train him for an organized transition. 

“None of these things are too great to overcome,” Barber said of Archer’s struggles. “The past is important to learn from, but stop referencing the past and move into the future of what can be accomplished. I think that will go a long way in the city moving forward, and I hope everyone can get on that train and move forward in a positive direction.” 

The City Commission also heard an update on Archer’s 2024 audit.  

A representative of Powell and Jones CPA said while the audit wasn’t complete yet, it would be by the Jan. 15 deadline. 

He said due to disorganization from the city’s history of transient financial staff, there’d been trouble tracking down the documents it needed for the audit.  

A disclaimer of opinion will likely be issued on the audit because Powell and Jones weren’t able to get sufficient appropriate audit evidence that the records are accurate.  

The representative said if the city did eventually find accurate records, it could redo the audit with those.  

Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or get involved, click here.