Wednesday, June 12, 2024

News and Updates

Temporary changes to Gainesville City Hall Office Hours



Due to issues with the air conditioning system at City Hall, leading to unsafe heat levels inside the building, City Manager Cynthia W. Curry is asking all City Hall employees to work remotely until further notice. Facilities is aware and is working to resolve the issue. Steps are being taken to restore climate control and reopen the building. Resumption of regular hours is tentatively set for early next week.

HR Director Laura Graetz asks staff within the affected offices to consult with their supervisors for specific expectations regarding remote work. For other City employees who utilize City Hall, the gym will be closed for the duration of these repairs as will other offices and services.

Please stay alert for notice of reopening.

City Closed Wednesday, June 19 to Observe Juneteenth

In observance of the Juneteenth holiday, city offices will be closed Wednesday, June 19.

Residential curbside collection for garbage, recycling and yard waste will be picked up on the holiday.

RTS will run its holiday bus service between 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on routes 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 20, 26, 35, 43, 75 and 711. Please visit www.Go-RTS.com for up-to-date route information. Please plan accordingly.

Community Builder Gathering

A huge thank you to all who made the Community Builder Gathering at Depot Park a big success!

An estimated 450 were able to attend, enjoying Subway sandwiches, pound cake and cookies, food vendors, activities, music and games.

For those who couldn't make it due to work demands or tricky schedules, you were missed. In the coming months, another event will be planned.

Let's keep up the great work as we make a difference in the lives of those we serve. 

Mural Painting Continues

Thank you to everyone who came to the mural painting station at the Community Builder Gathering! We still have several blank spots that could use some paint. Feel free to stop by the Communications office (211 NE First St., Suite 20) anytime this week and next week to help finish it up!

Gainesville Fire Rescue Signing Ceremony

Last Friday, Gainesville Fire Rescue welcomed its 2024 class of first responder candidates during its third annual Signing Day Ceremony as the candidates accepted conditional letters of employment from the City of Gainesville. Next the firefighters will complete a 7-week orientation to demonstrate proficiency and then will join fellow firefighters in response to emergency calls.

Following the ceremony, several candidates assisted with Teen Midnight Basketball that evening during an official #WearOrange event for National Gun Violence Awareness Day. As part of IMPACT GNV, the City of Gainesville and its community partners work to positively engage area youth in fun and safe activities as part of gun violence prevention efforts.

2024 Step Champions Runners-up

Congratulations to the step competition runners-up, GRU's NW Engineering.

The Pipeline Pacers finished four weeks of stepping with a total of 1,483,407 steps.

Team Captain: Barbara Misener

Team: Andrea Ditto, Brittany Neilhaus, Chris Mickler, Kristen Sealey and Natalia Larsen

Volunteers Needed for Freedom Walk

Join the City of Gainesville for our annual Journey to Juneteenth celebration. From May 18 through June 19, a variety of events will commemorate the Florida and national slavery emancipation dates.

Volunteer support is needed for the Freedom Walk on Saturday, June 15. 

Sign up to volunteer:

GCU Courses Available for April - June

Talent Management is pleased to announce the GCU courses in April-June are now open for registration.

• City of Gainesville Procurement 101 eLearning
• FLSA eLearning
• Career Planning eLearning
• Offering Rewards and Recognition (June 20, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.)
• Relationship Strategies (June 20, 1-4 p.m.)

Crisis Intervention and De-Escalation Training for Community Builders

Many of our community builders are interacting with multiple neighbors every day, whether it be services at a front desk, answering a main phone line, hosting education sessions or something else. In this work, we may encounter people who are struggling with mental health or substance use related challenges, or may be in crisis. To equip everyone to best support our neighbors, Gainesville Fire Rescue (GFR) is partnering with the Alachua County Crisis Center to bring crisis intervention and de-escalation training opportunities to front-line staff. 

This is a two-hour training that defines what a crisis is and how it may affect a person, debunks common myths about crisis, presents key principles of crisis intervention and provides an overview of de-escalation and intervention skills that people can use to support a person in crisis.

GFR and the Alachua County Crisis Center will be offering two training opportunities over the summer, with a maximum capacity of 30 people each. If these sessions reach capacity, additional dates may be added. Interested staff can sign up using this form and will receive a confirmation email approximately one week before training. Please sign up by June 11. Trainings will be held in person at the City Hall Complex – specific room will be determined based on class size.

• Tuesday June 25 from 3-5 p.m.

• Tuesday July 9 from 3-5 p.m.

Benefits Education Session

Pension and retirement education meetings will consist of several different topics. The first one was on the general pension plan. That session is saved in the Community Builder Hub. The next one is on the Consolidated Pension for Police Officers. Any Law Enforcement Officers, please join us to learn about your retirement with the city:

When and where:

Friday, June 28 at 10 a.m. via Zoom:

https://zoom.us/j/94465418266?pwd=DZzNyPEyYbzTqcxRAhbOntobOOsEh2.1

The upcoming sessions will be on:

• Consolidated Firefighters Pension Plan 7/12/24
• Retirement savings plans (Mission Square) 7/15/24
• Buy-Back Service Time 8/5/24

Please be on the lookout for the date and times of each meeting as they are subject to change. These will be recorded and saved in the Community Builder Hub.

Workday Wednesday

Workday Wednesday: New to Workday? Let's get started!

1. For SSO Auth- Regular EEs or AD/Network Accounts to log into Workday use the following steps:

• Click “SSO Auth-Regular EEs or AD/Network Accounts” at the middle left of the page on My Workday.
• When prompted provide your full City of Gainesville email address, for example, RogersR@cityofgainesville.org or RogersR@gru.com, then click "Next". If you do not have the city email or password then you will need to contact 352 393-1111 and wait for a technician to assist.
• Next, you may be prompted to provide your network password (the same password you use to log in to your computer) then click "Sign In".

2. Once Logged into Workday Complete Your Onboarding Tasks.

• Once in Workday, select the inbox icon in the upper right corner to navigate to your Workday “My Tasks” inbox. 
• Complete each pending onboarding task – don’t forget to select "Submit" for each task!
• As part of your onboarding, please pay special attention to the "Complete Your Form I-9" task – by federal law, your I-9 must be completed in Workday within three (3) business days of your first day of work.
• If you have any questions about completing these initial onboarding steps or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact Human Resources at 352-334-5077 or email hr@gainesvillefl.gov.

3. Learn to Use Workday.

• Learn about Workday by exploring this site Workday Help as well as Workday Help for Retirees & Native help site, particularly the Getting Started.

For all Workday inquiries, please submit a ticket.

Meet with the City Manager - Updated dates

City Manager Cynthia W. Curry is hosting listening sessions with city staff and would like to hear from you about any concerns or recommendations you can provide her. City Manager Curry will be in Room 105 of Thomas Center on the following remaining dates:

• Friday, May 3 from 2-4 p.m. (full)
• Tuesday, June 4 from 3-5 p.m. (full)
• Monday, July 15 from 3-5 p.m.

If you wish to meet with City Manager Curry for a 30-minute session, please contact Alison Novack at novackal@gainesvillefl.gov or 352-393-8679 to schedule a time.

No specifics are required for meeting content. City Manager Curry looks forward to your feedback and meeting with you.

New Microsoft Teams

Have you noticed that your Teams client is now called Teams Classic?

This is because Microsoft released an updated version of Teams called "New Teams." This update is currently optional, however, in mid-June, Microsoft will be retiring Teams Classic and New Teams will be the default.

You can try New Teams now by toggling the "Try the New Teams" switch in the top left corner of your Teams window. If you're interested in exploring some of the new features of New Teams in advance, you can take a look at the features.

Timekeepers: Please print and post this notice in a common area for those community builders who do not have regular computer access.