BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the October 13 Alachua County Commission meeting, Commissioners discussed how DEI statutes apply to County grants and whether they want to require Level 2 background screenings in certain County contracts; they also added $144 million to the FY2027 budget for road repair and authorized staff to borrow funds as needed, and they repealed firearm ordinances for the second time.
Rachael Ryan, Executive Director of Family Promise of Gainesville, said she and others working at Family Promise have been affected by “language requiring Level 2 background screenings in contracts with Alachua County.” She said she has a “past,” but she and others have worked hard to rebuild their lives, “and now, some of those same people are being told that they may no longer qualify to do the work they’ve been doing successfully for years — not because of their performance,… but because of something that happened in their past… I have always believed that if I worked hard, did the right thing, and continued to show up for my community, my past wouldn’t have to define my future.” She said there should be “a difference between protecting our community and unnecessarily creating barriers for people who have already demonstrated their ability to serve it.” She asked the County to remove the requirement for a Level 2 background screening…