The Re-Opening of Escambia County Begins Today

In alignment with the Governor's phased approach to opening the state--- Escambia County Facilities will begin a partial re-opening later this morning, Monday, May 4, 2020.

From County Administrator Janice Gilley:

"Dear Team Escambia:

Thank you again for your commitment to our citizens and your continued work during this very difficult time. I hope you and your families are safe and healthy.  As we look forward to getting back to a new normal in Phase I, please take time to read the information below related to your safety and reopening buildings at 25% (included at the bottom of the message).  Escambia County wants to protect our citizens and our employees that come to our facilities.  In anticipation of welcoming the public back to government facilities in a safe yet comfortable manner, the County will implement safety measures and guidelines. 

First and foremost, to protect themselves and those they come in contact with throughout the day, employees should remember to:

Be calm.  Be clean.  Be healthy.

·         Stay home if you’re sick

·         Move away from people before coughing or sneezing

o   cough or sneeze into your elbow or if available, a tissue and then discard the tissue in trash

·         Avoid close contact such as hugging or shaking hands

·         Avoid large gatherings (more than 10 people) and stay at least six (6) feet away from others

·         Avoid being around anyone who is sick or who may have a weak immune system

·         Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth

·         Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose

·         Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available

·         Continuously clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects

·         Following the CDC’s recommendation that masks or face coverings be worn in areas where social distancing is difficult, we will provide masks/face coverings for staff use. The provided face coverings are not personal protective equipment. They do not protect the wearer, but rather protect others from the wearer.

·         Staff should make every effort to maintain social distancing throughout the office. Wearing a face covering is optional but strongly suggested for staff that need to go to stores or other public places while working.

Please feel free to contact either me or your Department Director should you have any questions or concerns regarding the information provided. We will get through this pandemic situation and will be stronger as a community."

10 of My Questions for our County Administrator Finalists.......

We will be interviewing at least 7-8 candidates for the next County Administrator job.  I am going to ask some tough questions and I am going to demand answers to them for my vote.  Here are 10 I'll be asking.......

I'll be polite----but I won't be bashful.

I will ask tough questions of the 6-8 finalist that will be interviewed for our administrator position.

Because I know this position is critical.  This is the "Quarterback" position on the football team.

This is the manager of the "restaurant" taxpayers have invested their futures in.....

This position will be the "face" of our county

This  position runs our county and  our operation.  This is a stressful, mostly thankless, high-paying job that operates in the sunshine but that also deals with a lot of political pressure from 5 separate "bosses."

So we need this position filled ASAP but we need to get the RIGHT PERSON in this seat.

Right now there is a tremendous "leadership vacuum" in Escambia County, and filling the administrator position is the first step in correcting this condition.

So we have our list, we will do group interviews, and then we will do individual, one-on-one interviews with each of the finalists.  This is the point where I will make my final decision on my selection of the next administrator.  ( I am one-fifth of the  vote that will hire Jack Brown's successor)

Here are ten of the most important questions I will ask, and I will PRESS for REAL answers...

1.  Knowing this job will be high-visibility and high-pressure--why do you want this job?

2.  If you are the eventual selectee and you agree to terms to come to work for us--how many hours per week will you be willing to work on our (multiple) pressing issues (budget, labor union negotiations, fire service, pay issues, tax issues, ECAT issues, BCC personality issues, internal employee issues, etc. etc. etc.)?

3.  How will you handle Elected Board Members that want to micromanage you and tell you, for instance, what to do, how to do it, and /or which employees you need to discipline/terminate?

4.  How will you handle Elected Board Members that berate staff publicly at the dais?

5.  How will you handle Elected Board Members that try to thwart the will and the lawful votes of the elected BODY as a whole?

6.  Are you willing to tell an elected member of the BCC "NO" if unreasonable requests are made?

7.  Will you bring plans, ideas, initiatives forward to address the pressing issues this board faces

Who Wants to Be the Next Escambia County Administrator? The Short List Shifts Again....

The short list for our next county administrator currently sits at 6 names.  It could decrease or increase over the next five days but I predict we will have 7-8 finalists to interview on the 29th....

We ended last week with an identified short list of 5 names for the Administrator's job, and a very well written final report from our search consultants from FACM.

Three individuals were identified and ranked as the top three finalists, and two names were selected as alternates to round out the top selectees and we started this week with the following five "finalists" from our initial pool of 95 candidates that met the minimum qualifications:

1. Craig Coffee
2. Patrick Thompson
3. Michael Renshaw

Alt. 4.  David Strahl
Alt. 5.  Kenneth Griffin

On Monday-we were notified that "Kenneth C. Griffin has withdrawn from consideration due to his acceptance of another position."

Today, the board discussed the process and the names of the finalists for consideration and the board added three additional names to the list to be interviewed on April 29th:

1. Christopher Martin
2. Janice Gilley
3. Cedric Alexander

After the meeting, we were notified that Mike Renshaw had pulled his name out of the running.  Renshaw, in an email to staff, said:

"I had an opportunity to view the live meeting of the Committee of the Whole this morning (April 11) pertaining to the County Administrator selection process.  Please withdraw my name from any further consideration in this process.  I wish you well in your future endeavors, and please extend my thanks to the members of FACM.  If possible please advise your local media of my decision to withdraw as soon as possible, and confirm your receipt of this email."

This leaves us with 6 names to consider on the 29th.......as of right now.

But the board left the meeting today with the understanding that if any additional names are to be added to the list, these names need to be identified no later than next Tuesday, April 16th.  I have the strong suspicion that 1-2 more names will be added between now and then.  Which means we will more than likely be interviewing 7-8 finalists on April 29th.  This is what the finalist looks like as or right now.

1. Craig Coffee
2. Patrick Thompson
3. David Strahl
4. Christopher Martin
5. Janice Gilley
6. Cedric Alexander
7.  ?  (possible)
8.  ?  (possible)