The Gainesville City Commission is moving forward with the creation of a gun violence prevention task force - slowly.
Commissioners agree that it is needed, but also expressed concern with city staff taking on more work as budget cutting eliminates some positions.
Mayor Harvey Ward said he wants to proceed cautiously to make sure it's done right. He also wants buy-in from other community groups and local governments.
"If we stand up and say the City of Gainesville is going to do this, I promise you, from having seen this over and over again, everybody else is going to say, "Alright, we don't have to do it,'" Ward said while making the gesture of wiping his hands clean. "Because that's what keeps happening."
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she has already heard from several groups that want to help solve the gun violence problem in and around Gainesville.
"I don't have the desire to have anyone on the task force be appointed. That needs to be an open and organic process," she said. "They need to be empowered to lead this in various ways."
The commission voted to discuss with Alachua County commissioners partnership opportunities and the creation of a task force. That will likely happen at a joint meeting in August. The commission also directed city staff to come up with options for how a task force could be structured and operate efficiently.