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Newberry approves two-year sheriff contract, adds school-hour traffic deputy
Summary
The City Commission unanimously approved a two-year law enforcement services agreement with the sheriff’s office on July 28, 2025, adding a traffic patrol deputy for school-time traffic control and continuing a 3.75% annual escalator in the contract price.
The Newberry City Commission unanimously approved a new two-year law-enforcement services contract with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office on July 28, 2025, that continues a 3.75% annual price escalator and adds a traffic patrol deputy to manage school-hour traffic at Southwest 15th and 2741.
City staff told the commission the contract replaces a previous agreement that had the sheriff providing enhanced law-enforcement services through the municipal services taxing unit (MSTU) arrangement. Dallas Lee presented the negotiated agreement and said the addition of a traffic patrol deputy to work school days between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. will cost roughly $34,000 per year. Undersheriff Cruz represented the sheriff’s office at the meeting.
Commissioner Tony Maison moved to authorize the mayor to execute the agreement and Commissioner Clark seconded; the vote was unanimous. Commissioners and staff discussed the difference between the city contracting directly and joining the MSTU model: staff said that had Newberry joined the MSTU this year, the estimated taxpayer cost would have been about $2,990,000 compared with a contract cost of about $1,100,000, a difference staff characterized as nearly $2 million in annual taxpayer savings.
During public comment, resident Naim Archaed asked whether the traffic deputy would be pulled from the location to respond to other emergencies; Undersheriff Cruz said the city will still have a dedicated contract deputy in the Newberry zone at all times and that deputies and field supervisory teams would be coordinated so the dedicated zone deputy would not be used for traffic direction. The commission also publicly thanked Sheriff Scott for working on the agreement; a photograph and signatory exchange followed.
Why it matters: The contract formalizes the sheriff’s coverage for Newberry and funds a dedicated traffic position targeted at school arrival hours. The commission’s discussion assessed trade-offs between direct contracting and MSTU membership, and staff emphasized continuity of a contract deputy even when traffic-control resources respond to other calls.
Next steps: The city will execute the two-year agreement and budget for the annual escalator and the added deputy cost in upcoming fiscal planning.
