Alachua Earns Dual Honors for Wellness, Financial Reporting

ALACHUA – The City of Alachua picked up two separate honors during its April 6, 2026, meeting, one tied to employee wellness and another tied to financial reporting, giving city staff a pair of public wins for work that usually happens behind the scenes.

The first came early in the meeting, when Human Resources Director Tara Malone told commissioners the city had again received the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust’s Hometown Health Award. FMIT representatives said this was Alachua’s fifth consecutive year receiving the award and its third straight year receiving the program’s $25,000 check. “Alachua actually is the only city across the entire state that has gotten it all three years that we’ve been giving out the $25,000,” Lindsay Fisher, hometown health marketing manager with the Florida League of Cities, told commissioners.

Fisher said the city qualified by keeping its loss ratio below 80 percent and by posting strong participation in the program’s wellness tiers. She said 67 percent of employees took part in Tier 1 and 36 percent in Tier 2. Under the program guidelines, award winners can receive up to $25,000, equal to 1 percent of premium, if they meet the required loss-ratio and participation thresholds. “Keeping your loss ratio down under 80 percent is no easy task,” Fisher said, calling the city’s three-year run “fantastic.”

Later in the meeting, Finance and Administrative Services Director Robert Bonetti told commissioners the city had also received its 15^th consecutive award from the Government Finance Officers Association for the annual financial report it submits for review. Bonetti said the city keeps using outside feedback to improve the document. “Every year they make comments, and every year we respond to those comments and hopefully improve our document year to year,” he said.

That recognition came as commissioners accepted the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and management letter for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025. Agenda materials state the city received an unmodified, or “clean,” opinion on its 2025 financial statements, the 23^rd consecutive year it has received that distinction, and that there were no current-year written comments. The same materials say Alachua has received the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 15 consecutive years, covering fiscal years 2010 through 2024. The FY2025 annual report itself includes the certificate for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2024, and says the new report will be submitted for another review.

Ron Whitesides of Purvis Gray and Company underscored the audit result for commissioners. “That is a clean opinion. That’s what you want to get,” Whitesides said. “That’s the highest form of assurance your auditor can give you.”

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