Gainesville City Commission reallocates $150k in ARPA funds to replace gun violence prevention allocation after reduction in GRU payments

City Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker speaks about gun violence while Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut listens

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the February 15 Gainesville City Commission meeting, the Commission voted to reallocate $150,000 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to gun violence prevention, replacing funds that were cut from the budget after Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) reduced monthly payments to the City.

Update on gun violence prevention efforts

Brandy Stone, the Community Health Director for Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR), gave the presentation on behalf of GFR Chief Joe Dixon, who is also a Special Advisor to the City Manager. She reviewed the recent history of the issue in Gainesville, including the declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis in February 2023, which led to a resolution declaring gun violence a public health crisis in July 2023. In August 2023, City and County staff were directed to partner with Santa Fe College on a community-based Gun Violence Task Force, and in January 2024, City staff was asked to identify current steps and stakeholders at the City and County; return with a report that includes the 10 essential activities recommended by the Department of Justice; and return with a report on immediate, short-term, and long-term recommendations that could serve as draft plans for the City and County Commissions.

Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager to start on March 11

Among the actions that have been taken, Stone highlighted the decision to create a full-time Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager, funded with ARPA dollars. The position has been filled, and the selected candidate is scheduled to start on March 11. Over the three years of ARPA funding, the position is estimated to cost $250,000 in salary and fringe benefits. Stone said the candidate has a master’s degree in counseling psychology; experience in municipal government; and a background in program management, community engagement, grant writing, and data collection. Stone said this individual will be “gathering and analyzing data from… various City departments,… sharing information out with the community about these efforts, representing the City working with Santa Fe and other stakeholders, and, of course, providing updates to the City Commission” as part of GFR’s quarterly updates. 

The City Commission also previously approved $150,000 for gun violence prevention from the General Fund in the budget for Fiscal Year 2024; due to budget cuts caused by a reduction in monthly payments from GRU that began on February 1, that amount is on the cutting block, but ARPA funds can be used to replace them. Stone said staff has also been looking for grants to “support the operational and logistical needs of this work.

10 Essential Actions

Stone reviewed programs in a long list of City departments that involve community outreach and gun violence prevention, and she read the list of “10 Essential Actions” from the U.S. Department of Justice:

  • Set a clear goal: commit to saving lives by stopping violence;
  • Identify the key people and places driving the violence;
  • Create a city-wide plan for engaging key people and places;
  • Engage key people with empathy and accountability;
  • Address key locations using place-based policing and investment;
  • Place responsibility for violence reduction efforts at the top;
  • Emphasize healing with trauma-informed approaches;
  • Invest in anti-violence workforce development;
  • Set aside funding for new stakeholders and strategies;
  • Commit to continuous improvement based on data, evidence, and peer-to-peer learning.

Stone said the City “set a clear goal by passing a resolution to declare gun violence a public health crisis” and listed various area programs that partially implement the other Essential Actions. She said GFR Chief Dixon is “working with Deputy County Manager Smart on programs to invest in anti-violence workforce,” and the City is in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Loss Prevention Research Council to “leverage public safety data to identify health outcomes,” for the last Essential Action on the list.

Stone also listed immediate and short-term actions: bring the Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager on board; finalize the MOU with Santa Fe College and Alachua County; finalize the MOU with Loss Prevention Research council; suggest that Alachua County host the 2024 Gun Violence Summit; support the creation of an ongoing gun violence prevention plan; finalize some ordinances suggested by Commissioner Ed Book; review and evaluate programs to fill needs; and provide an updated presentation at a March 25 Joint City/County Commission meeting.

How will the $150,000 be used?

In response to a question from Commissioner Reina Saco, City Manager Cynthia Curry said $150,000 is needed to “not only address whatever we need to do with the relationship with Santa Fe [College], but any other programming that might come out of the initiative, so that is really necessary.”

Commissioner Casey Willits asked Curry if the 10 Essential Actions are a helpful framework, and Curry said they’re “a succinct way of us being able to communicate to the community” and that the Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager would be responsible for tracking progress under each Action.

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker asked Curry how they will fund the new position after the ARPA funds expire in December 2026, and Curry said staff had not made any decisions because of “the revenue reductions that we’re looking at–we need to take a look at it when we’re looking at the budget in total.”

Duncan-Walker: Crafting a path forward is “really, really critical”

Duncan-Walker said, “The issue of gun violence won’t be solved by 2026, or even whittled down, and so how we begin to craft a path forward, utilizing all of our partners, is really, really critical.” She said she had recently visited the Clarence R. Kelly Community Center to see what the youth program was like, and she said they’re “facing some challenges with regards to getting parents to fill out registration forms” for children to attend the program, and she had only seen about four children there that day, although “the community is still full of kids.” She said she hoped the City would do any outreach required to remove any “barrier… preventing those registration forms from coming back… We want to see that facility bursting at the seams with kids to receive those services every day because we understand that that directly ties into helping to address gun violence prevention.”

Duncan-Walker also said she would have preferred to discuss the gun violence agenda item in the evening, when more people could attend, and Mayor Harvey Ward responded, “I would encourage all commissioners to make sure that Agenda Review [meetings are] on your calendars. It’s important as we set the agendas for the meetings.”

Book: City should engage in “social norming campaigns” and “publicize offenders”

Book said he supported everything that had been presented but wanted to be sure that trauma-informed approaches and an emphasis on services for victims were included. He also mentioned “social norming campaigns… What it does, for those who aren’t aware, it basically says, ‘Not everybody takes these actions. In fact, only a small amount of people take these actions. If you’re not engaging in gun violence, you’re part of the majority. So do the right thing.'” He also praised law enforcement’s use of rewards through Crimestoppers and advocated for “publicizing offenders and the penalties. This is a time where I do not have the empathy for them, when they’ve taken actions that have victimized others, and that’s where the empathy lies. So any attempts to publicize offenders… I think may be beneficial, although that does make people nervous.”

Motion

Willits made a motion to take up his previous motion, which had been tabled during the previous agenda item; the motion was to reallocate $150,000 in ARPA funds originally allocated to City administrative services to stand-alone gun violence prevention programming. The motion passed unanimously. 

Eastman: City is “being forced into” budget cuts

Following the vote, Commissioner Bryan Eastman said, “This may not be the last serious community crisis that we have to deal with, where we have to plug a serious budget hole in there. This is one of the easier ones because we had some reserve funds that were left in there. But… there [are no people] that will go home without a job in the morning because of a decision that we have made. That may not be true for the next one and for the next one and for the next one… These are going to continue to be very hard and very real decisions that are going to have to be made, and they’re not things that we want to make; it’s something that we’re being forced into and being forced to make.”

Reallocations finalized during evening session

During the evening session, the Commission took up a budget amendment resolution that eliminated a $250,000 seed grant for at-risk youth and a gun violence set-aside of $150,000 and reallocated $150,000 in ARPA funds to replace the gun violence funds. 

Eastman made the motion to adopt the budget amendment resolution that implemented those items and other budget cuts and fund transfers that were made in response to cuts of $181k per month from the GRU Authority, and Saco seconded the motion. 

Eastman: “We are running very, very tight to the bone.”

Eastman said, “Every one of these cuts has a real impact because the things we do as a City really, really matter… And so as we’re going through this $1.4 million reduction, I think it’s worth remembering that these numbers really have a huge impact on people’s lives… We are running very, very tight to the bone… We just got rid of our General Fund reserves… And if people don’t like these cuts, I would recommend that you reach out, frankly, to the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority, tell them that General Government does matter, that the General Services Contribution is a payment in lieu of taxes, and that if you do not pay your taxes, we are going to have to pay your taxes for you.” Eastman had earlier asked whether the City could withhold police and fire services from GRU if they stopped paying the General Services Contribution. 

Eastman’s motion to approve the budget amendment resolution passed unanimously. 

  • I’ll tell you how to help the gun violence. 1- Give the money to GPD and ASO.
    2- Stop restricting K9 usage
    3- send violators to prison instead of probation
    4- Go back to proactive policing.
    People always want to complain when cops are stopping people and doing their jobs, but when documented gang members are shooting each other it’s a big ordeal and we should hold hands and talk about it.

    • Close the bars down early.
      End open container.
      Increase lighting.
      Clean up the city (pressure wash).
      Limit large crowds and gatherings (without a permit).

    • Totally agree with you. Problem is they don’t want to address core issues. No, families. Start holding parents accountable for any minor that is running the streets.

  • Putting violent offenders in jail, regardless of age, and keeping them there is the only way of doing this. Soy boy kumbayah sessions at city hall aren’t going to fix this.

  • If Eastman had an ounce of integrity he would tell the truth.
    Truth is the comms of the city commission have pandered away so much of the city’s tax revenue that they had to literally rob the utility company to cover their red, now that they have to work within a ledger they are whining like babies. If you don’t like Gainesville Mr Eastman you can leave and go destroy another city. We won’t mind, trust me.

  • There appears to be no such thing as a “full cost allocation plan payment” (FCAP). Any actual reduction in over $30 million in direct and in kind payments from GRU to the City cannot be verified.

  • Other than telling kids the obvious logical results of illicit violence, they need to tell them what STEALING and shoplifting does to their community, hoods and families. Their grandmas who babysat them have to travel further for groceries, in a car with higher auto insurance premiums, in the Bidenomics Era. For starters… 😔

  • Serious questions: Why does the city need a golf course? People were laid off, but the city kept a golf course? Am I missing something?

  • The governing of Gainesville by a group of idiots, who were elected by a constituency of idiots, continues.
    It’s a safe bet how they’ll obtain funding for their ill-conceived plans when those government handout ARPA funds run out. Most of use know at least one idiot who will still vote to tax themselves more.

    “Highly educated community”…sure.

  • $150,000 would cover some over-time for proactive street patrol. Yet the gun fights continue, young men die for the sake of a gangs reputation.
    What ever happened to Jones and Scott’s plan to flood the streets with adult role models?
    This is what happens when democrats run a city.

  • $250,000 for another fake city government position, the Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager.

    All this person is going to do is shuffle around data to try and make the city commission look good. The money would be better spent on more police officers.

    Brian Eastman continues to prove why he is one of the most dishonest and loathsome political creatures in recent city commission history, which is saying a lot.

    Brian: the GSC wasn’t “a payment in lieu of taxes”, you absolute fraud. It was backdoor taxation without representation. The small town of Gainesville can’t support the extremely bloated city government and all of its delusional international aims. Live within your budget or get the hell out of our town, tourist.

  • “Identify the key people and places driving the violence”

    I’m sure this goal has already been realized long ago with GPD & ASO knowing many of the usual repeat offenders and their hangouts. However, arresting them has minimal consequences when the prosecutor’s office repeatedly reduces or drops their charges letting them back into Gangsville again.

  • GFR Chief Dixon is an honorable man from what I’ve heard about him. Since GFR has experience with shootings as first responders, his involvement makes sense.

    I do wonder what a gun violence prevention committee can do, though. I’m with Commissioner Book – violent offenders should be named and shamed. I think that should go for minors as well – going easy on young people who break the law just ingrains those behaviors young.

    Seems like GPD and ASO are doing a good job of arresting the offenders. The problem seems to be a lack of follow-through with the prosecutors and courts who reduce charges, give probation rather than prison time, etc. Maybe that’s where the focus of this committee should be.

    Underlying all of this is the breakdown of families. All the violence prevention committees in the world can’t solve the problems that the lack of a father in the home causes. Pretending that dads don’t really matter is destroying our society. Policies should reflect the value of parents and promote responsible fatherhood.

    • And there should be consequences when lenient judges let violent offenders out on low bail amounts and the offenders hurt and/or kill people when they are out.

      Judges should be held accountable.

      And the state attorney’s office should also be held accountable for being more concerned about a high conviction rate than they are about protecting our community from violence.

      There should be a tally available to the public that shows repeat violent offenders and who dropped the ball.

    • Concerned Mom

      You are spot on in many ways, but please allow me to add to your comments. I don’t know much about GFR Chief Dixon. But a Fire Chief whose personnel respond to shootings, likely, knows little about the root cause of the criminal behavior behind what they respond to, other than someone shot someone. Without a law enforcement background, he only sees the result of the violence. This is only one part of the equation.

      You cannot find solutions to the problem working from the back to the front.
      In the big picture of the City’s plan to stop gun violence, that is exactly what is happening.

      Calling on the “declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis” is putting the cart way before the horse. Like someone else mentioned, this whole exercise is nothing more than a feel-good exercise, “kumbaya session,” that politicians can throw out there so that the voters might think they are doing something to stop the violence. As proposed, it is a complete waste of money on the City’s part! In fact, they need the Police Chief, or a representative from the police department, who knows what they are talking about regarding gun violence, to be involved. They also need someone from the County Sheriff’s department with the same experience as that from the police department to be involved. They need to have someone from the County prosecutor’s office so that they can hear about citizen’s concerns with the results that occur from their policies against putting people in prison for felony crimes (allowing criminals to plead guilty to a lesser crime rather than a felony). Someone needs to be on the committee that can stand up for the fact that we need to have judges who don’t mind putting people in prison who continually commit violent crimes. Because of the actions of the current City commission, this will never happen and there is no end in sight for preventing a significant decrease in violent crimes in and around Gainesville.

      I am a retired police officer from a big city in Texas. I know violent crime well. I know that having enough officers on the street affects the number of violent crimes in a significant way, but only if community policing is part of the answer. The police officers in Gainesville have no faith in their Police Chief and often, they are hesitant to police the citizens of Gainesville in a significant way. This is greatly affected by the actions of the City Commission as well. They are understaffed and worn down. The police department is having difficulties recruiting new officers because of the reputation of the Chief and his department, as well as the actions of the City Commission.

      I know what needs to happen to make a difference in crime in this city and county. The way it is heading, this problem is only going to get worse.

      I apologize for my long rant.

  • Dear city of Gainesville:
    You are offering $150K to someone who can answer this question:
    “Identify the key people and places driving the violence”
    My answer for you: “17 year old school dropout drug dealers in historically “underserved” neighborhoods with stolen guns killing each other.”
    When can I come by city hall and pick up my $150K check?
    It is a pleasure being a subcontractor vendor for the city of Gainesville.
    P.S.: None of your other 9 talking points will do anything about the problem. All of them are make work for overpaid government employees to sit around the table in another expensive circle jerk. But it does make you feel good, doesn’t it?

  • That fact that the fire department is running point on the gun violence prevention program tells me the city isn’t that serious about tamping down the problem. First responders are known for responding to the aftermath of crimes…not known for preventing them from happening.

    Is the city unaware that law enforcement is designed to do this job…all the city has to do is allow them to do their job instead of irresponsibly pawning it off on firemen

  • Let’s talk about the drugs coming across the border and re-sold by locals put out of work during the pandemic. Then let’s talk about Harvey Ward, who, on Jan 24th lied when he told TV20 that stricter gun laws was the answer to shootings in Gainesville. — The science says just the opposite. In a published book by John Lott at the Crime Prevention Research Center, he finds that more guns results in less crime. By the way, Ward’s father had his permit to carry revoked by the State and Harvey Ward himself has spoken in public about being “comfortable with guns”. Here is the Book: – http://tinyurl.com/ybyw3kpy

  • “Place responsibility for violence reduction efforts at the top”

    What’s the purpose of this vague statement? To keep passing the buck up the line?

  • Sometimes it is difficult writing here without using words that will upset the local D*l*t*-O-M*t*r but I will try. I am NOT going to mention ethnicity, hair styles, age, or certain demographics giving their offspring what are called “ghetto names” to handicap them for life. I cannot talk about minor “children” (unless they are being charged as adults.) I will not speak ill of anyone for living in downtown Newberry, county seat of the conservative Utopia of Gawd’s Country Springs County.
    But.
    “Identify the key people and places driving the violence”
    Exhibit A. On the Alachua Chronicle look at the “Jail Booking Log, February 21” find the word “Blair” and look at photo and read the text.
    Similar entries to be found almost every day.
    I rest my case.

  • HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    The commission continues to be a joke. A lot of vague statements also known as bullshit.

    Funding shortfalls – you bet. But not because of a lack of income. Just check your property taxes. What was the increase last year, 25-30%. How about the year before – same? Funding progressive activism is expensive. What’s the price tag now for zero carbon by 2045 – $3B – yep that’s billion.

    The city has lost it’s GRU cash cow so we know what the answer will be. Regarding the expected shortfalls one of the commissioners recently said something to the effect, well we’ll just have to raise taxes again.

    You can’t raise property taxes forever without expecting some consequences. Property owners are being required to fund everything for those that pay no property taxes. We need use taxes where everybody pays for services.

    And the commissioners laughably talk about affordable housing. Guess what, landlords pay property taxes. Surprise, when you raise taxes landlords raise rents. Hello – commissioners are you there?

    It’s tough to be governed by morons.

    But as often stated in Chronicle comments – you voted for it.

    I recommend reading former GRU manager Ed Bielarski’s book “The City That Lost Control.”

    They fired Ed but the city should be grateful that he at least got rid of the onerous GREC PPA contract that would still be costing Gainesville huge amounts for years to come because of the climate change biomass boondoggle.

  • They need to patrol a lot more and spread out better into random neighborhoods, not just high-crime zones. They don’t need to summon 4 or 5 additional police cars every time someone gets pulled over for a traffic infraction. Those police cars should be patrolling neighborhoods the whole time, looking for opportunities to arrest criminals and get them off the streets. If there are more homeless (drug addict) encampments downtown, put them under surveillance and arrest people.

    Where are the helicopters that idiot Poe & Co. got rid of, back before we had so many shootings? Why are helicopters not even being discussed as an option? I think helicopters flying around at night have a deterrent effect, and clearly they are advantageous sometimes.

    It’s high time for changes here, from the City Manager to GPD. I hope Poe is proud of how the vagrants have ruined “his” (he tried to take credit for it) Depot Park. Take a walk around downtown on a weekend. Try not to stumble on all the trash carted around by the crazy people that is strewn all over the sidewalks.

    • Your suggestions don’t make sense anymore.

      First, 5 additional patrol cars are required for a traffic infraction because it takes time to determine the driver’s pronoun. If you’re arrested with the wrong pronoun assignment you’re automatically let go.

      Also, “looking for opportunities to arrest criminals” would be considered profiling. Even if the perp was carrying a machete you can’t ask what they’re doing (especially if you don’t know their pronoun).

      Finally, only all-electric helicopters are allowed now. Perhaps the ARPA funds the GCC loves to raid can be used to purchase a long extension cord.

      (This was satire – maybe!)

  • We need more guns to all citizens. Read the case study on Kennesaw Georgia on how quickly crime evaporated when the population became heavily armed. Good people need guns.

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