The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met with the Archer City Commission on Monday, discussing finances, road projects and wastewater.  

Archer Mayor Fletcher Hope highlighted the commission’s corrective actions to recover financially since discovering misallocations, unpaid taxes and a lack of auditing late last year. These efforts started under current Vice Mayor Iris Bailey and continued after Hope became mayor in January.  

Hope said the city has reduced its debt from $1.5 million in December 2024 by around half a million dollars, putting the city’s total debt at $980,680. Last week, the commission finished paying off $254,000 in outstanding 941 payroll taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  

Archer has also started a repayment plan to Alachua County for around $300,000 in misspent Wild Places Public Spaces funds. The city has already contributed $76,500 toward the repayments, and the BOCC voted in January to give the city three years to complete the repayments, with potential options to extend. 

“It’s a start; it’s a strong start,” Hope said of the repayments to the county.  

The City Commission, Hope said, now meets twice a month with one meeting focused on just the finances.  The commission has also started to dual authorize payments and IRS 941 payroll taxes that happen every two weeks.  

The city has received no outside assistance to date, and Hope said the state of Florida has yet to send an official correspondence.  

“That’s the biggest thing that I would like to continue to build is the trust factor with our citizenry, not only our regular constituents that come to the meetings, but all of the citizenry in Archer,” Hope said.  

He said the goal is to not just recover but to be stronger with the new systems in place. 

The BOCC praised the city for starting to get on track after finding out the issues, which led to former City Manager Charles Hammond’s firing.  

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said she’s been glad to see the city begin to pull itself up, and Commissioner Ken Cornell called it a good start.  

Cornell added that the city must finish its bank account reconciliations in order to get the full picture and ensure all issues are known. The bank reconciliations have been finished through April 24, 2024, and the city expects to complete the reconciliations in the next two and a half months.  

“Until you get that done, you are not going to have a level of comfort with what your budget is moving forward,” Cornell said. 

Hope also pointed out that the city’s seven full-time employees have stayed through the situation. He said employees have even started cross-training in jobs to help fill responsibilities. 

Archer Road and other road projects 

Citizens and leaders discussed how long they’ve tried to get Archer Road expanded to four lanes from Gainesville to Archer, more than 20 years for some.  

Right now, the county is about to start a $2.5 million planning study, mostly funded by the state, to look at expanding Archer Road until it intersects with Parker Road, 122nd Street. Following the study, the county plans to push the state to put forward funds to do the actual work.  

The BOCC said they’ve been able to make positive steps since restructuring the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MTPO). However, the BOCC said that since Archer Road is a state road, the county can only lobby the Florida Legislature and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for changes.  

Parker Road is around 3.5 miles from Archer itself, but Hope said it’s a positive step that could lead to another expansion.  

Commissioner Marilyn Green said the county’s study and the potential future expansion is a big need.  

“The traffic out there is getting worse and worse because more people are moving into this side of the county and over into Levy County, so we’re glad to see that,” Green said. 

Residents also wondered about the current construction happening along Archer Road and if that might widen the road. County staff said FDOT started a $3.4 million project to add two left turn lanes, but the project will keep the road two lanes up to the Gainesville city limits.  

The current FDOT project is estimated to finish in July.  

The Archer commissioners and citizens thanked the county for other road projects in the area. Since the last joint meeting, Alachua County repaved SW 143rd Avenue and has almost finished SW 170th Street to the county line. The county also added asphalt millings to the road leading to Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.  

Alachua County Assistant Public Works Director Brian Kauffman said the county will also install flashing beacons at the school crosswalk next month.  

Wastewater funding 

Archer has signed onto a joint wastewater project with the city of Newberry, and Hope updated the BOCC that it has asked for $2.5 million from the Florida Legislature this session to make the project work.

While Newberry builds the wastewater treatment facility, Archer is responsible for building the lines to pump its wastewater to the facility. The city has received $987,000 so far. 

Hope said Archer believes adding wastewater will help the city grow. The project construction is slated to start next year and finish in 2027.