Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025

News and Updates

Holiday Drop-In

Join your colleagues for this year’s Holiday Drop-In, Friday, Dec. 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium.

All City staff are invited to stop by for light food, refreshments and seasonal fun hosted by interim City Manager Andrew Persons. Holiday songs will be part of the cheer for those who wish to join in, but singing is strictly optional and the event will not be livestreamed this year. There will be a holiday backdrop and costumed characters for photo-taking festivities!

Fleet Blood Drive

Come to Centralized Fleet and help save lives by donating blood. LifeSouth will be here (6317 NW 16th St.) on Wednesday, Dec. 10, from 7:30 - 10 a.m.

Kudos to Park Staff

Kevin Pickard, director of leisure services for the City of Sunrise, reached out after learning that our own Scott Spaulding went above and beyond during a visit from one of their City’s leadership team members. Their public engagement manager, Sady Diaz, was visiting Sweetwater Wetlands Park with her family when their stroller got a flat tire, making it difficult to move around the park. Scott noticed the situation, immediately stepped in, and retrieved an air pump from his truck to help them get back on their way.

This simple act of kindness made a massively positive impact on their day, and it left such a strong impression that it made its way back to a fellow director across the state, who felt compelled to share the kudos.

Please join us in giving Scott a huge congratulations for demonstrating the level of customer service we strive for as a department. This is what excellence looks like. It’s who we are. And it’s moments like these that reinforce why our work matters to the community and to visitors near and far.

"It goes without saying that we do what we do, not for accolades, but because we have a heart to serve and to make our guests feel welcome and their visit enjoyable and memorable. From this we get great satisfaction.

I appreciate the fact that PRCA, from top down, has created a culture of service from the heart, and I know for certain that anyone would have done what I did given the opportunity. In fact, I witness SWP staff going above and beyond every day." —Scott Spaulding

Payday moving to Fridays in January 2026

Beginning January 2026, the City of Gainesville is changing the employee pay date from Thursdays to Fridays. This change allows employees, supervisors, timekeepers and the Payroll Services Division additional time to input, process, verify and finalize each pay period, helping ensure greater accuracy and reliability in payroll delivery.

Key Points:

• The first Friday paycheck under the new schedule will be issued on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
• All subsequent paydays will occur every other Friday.
• This change does not affect pay frequency, total compensation or benefits—only the day pay is distributed.

Annual Performance Reviews: Past Due!

Annual performance reviews are now past due. Please submit all outstanding reviews as soon as possible.

To check your team’s status, go to Workday > Menu > Team Performance > My Team’s Performance Reviews. If a review is in your employee’s inbox, they must complete or skip their self-evaluation before you can finish your assessment and submit it for approval.

More information and resources can be found below:

Staying safe when sunset is at 5:40 p.m.

With the annual end of Daylight Saving Time this past weekend, coupled with ongoing construction in the City Hall Plaza, we wanted to offer some safety tips for our community builders:

1.Use the buddy system when entering and leaving facilities, and walk with others to and from your destination. If that is not possible and you’d like the on-duty security guard to escort you, call the security desk at ext. 8674.

2.Remain situationally aware at all times, especially when entering and exiting a building or vehicle

3.“See something, say something.” If you see something you know shouldn’t be there or someone’s behavior doesn’t seem quite right – say something. Any “out of the ordinary” activities or items should be reported to local law enforcement immediately. When notifying officials, describe specifically what you observed, including:

• Who or what you saw
• When you saw it
• Where it occurred
• Why it is suspicious

Report suspicious items and/or people to 352-955-1818 (non-emergency) or 911 (emergencies only).

This Hurricane Season was busy, but not for the U.S.

The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Nov. 30. This year was forecast to be one of the busiest season in recent history and actually ended within the expected ranges. There were 13 named storms compared to the original forecast of 13-19 storms. Of those 13 storms, five became hurricanes and four reached major hurricane status, with the number of major storms being at the top of the expected range.

With all this activity, for the first time in 10 years, no hurricane made landfall on the U.S. coast, though other countries were not so lucky as major Hurricane Melissa devastated several island countries. Florida only had coastal effects from the storms with high surf, tides and some minor flooding. Some of those four major storms almost made records for rapid intensification, growing by more than 115 mph in less than 72 hours. The season ended with major Hurricane Melissa, which had one of the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfalls on record with wind gusts hitting 252 mph, matching the winds inside an EF-5 tornado.

Though our state and county did not see any impacts this year, preparations for next year’s season have already begun. All independent study classes are available; please remember all new employees need to complete their basic classes. If there is any question as to which classes those are, they should consult their supervisor/manager.

City Hall Plaza Refresh Project Updates

The City Hall Plaza Refresh Project is expected to continue through April 2026, with the King Memorial Gardens expected to be complete or substantially complete in January. This week’s project highlights are:

• Install electrical conduit and electrical rough in the plaza
• Reline the existing stormwater management system

Cozy Cats of Fall!

Fall is here! We received an amazing collection of dog photos for our summer pet feature, and now we’re turning our attention to cats for the fall season!

We’re on the hunt for photos of cozy cats to showcase. Share your feline friends with us for a chance to be featured in insideGNV!

This week's photo of Frank comes to us from Laura Rawson in Communications.

Breaking news: Scientists confirm cat has become one with the box.

Emerging Leaders

Our next cohort of Emerging Leaders is coming soon! The Emerging Leaders Program is an 18-month professional development initiative designed to cultivate strategic, ethical and innovative leaders within the City of Gainesville. Participants gain practical experience, mentorship and connections to strengthen their leadership impact in public service.

Applications will be accepted starting in January. View the video to learn more.

Workday Wednesday

New Workday Login Page Coming in January

Workday will be deploying a new user interface (UI) for the login pages and introducing a modernized password reset experience this January. A key benefit for users utilizing native authentication (retirees, contractors and temporary employees) is the ability to view their password as they enter it on the Workday login page, minimizing sign-in errors.

For any Workday-related inquiries, please submit a Workday ticket for assistance.

Listening Sessions with interim City Manager Andrew Persons

Interim City Manager Andrew Persons is hosting listening sessions with city staff on the following dates and would like to hear from you regarding any concerns or recommendations you can provide him. City Manager Persons is available:

• Monday, Dec. 15 from 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 14 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

If you wish to meet with interim City Manager Persons 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. Interim City Manager Persons looks forward to your feedback and meeting with you.

Reminder: The Community Builder Hub provides access to documents and other workplace information from your Microsoft Office365 account. No VPN connection is needed, but you must be logged into your Microsoft Office account.

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