Century Spells Out Job Requirements For New Town Clerk

April 7, 2010

After advertising for a new town clerk and getting no response, the Town of Century has decided to set higher standards for the job.

Current Century Town Clerk Dorothy Sims is retiring at the end of April, but will remain available to help train her replacement.  The town advertised the position in the local weekly newspaper, but received no response, according to Mayor Freddie McCall. The advertisement detailed a set of basic requirements for job applicants.

Now, the town council has voted to set more stringent requirements for the job at the recommendation of Council President Ann Brooks.

The new town clerk will be required to hold at least an associate’s degree with a minimum of three years experience in records management, data processing or experience in municipal government including supervisory experience and any equivalent combination of education and experience.

The applicant will also be required to have working knowledge of state statutes and bylaws relating to the duties and responsibilities of the town clerk, local government procedures and office procedure requirements, as well as other office and financial record keeping experience.

Brooks, who operates an accounting business in Century, told the council that she had considered applying for the job, but she said it would hurt her business to much.

She suggested that by hiring a more qualified town clerk, the town could eliminate much of the work that is currently done by the town’s accountant, Robert Hudson.

The higher qualifications were approved by the council 5-0.

Comments

17 Responses to “Century Spells Out Job Requirements For New Town Clerk”

  1. BLONDIE on April 9th, 2010 7:38 pm

    the answer to your question yes some people has master degrees and is living with in the towns city limits but the town clerk they have now live outside of the city limits… where is the applications

  2. bill, big b little ill on April 8th, 2010 10:30 pm

    More and more employers are expecting more from employees. Associate’s degree is not so much to ask for in a job like this. It cost a lot of money to do on the job training. The three years experience is the hard part, most people who already have the education and experience are likely to be happy where they are and feel safe staying put.

  3. Safebear on April 8th, 2010 4:36 pm

    Sounds like Ms. Brooks has someone in mind for the job – everybody else can probably save time and apply for something different.

  4. David Huie Green on April 8th, 2010 1:02 pm

    Admittedly it looks silly to make it harder to qualify for the job after nobody tried to be hired the first go-around.

    On the other hand, they may have realized their initial requirements didn’t spell out the job needs properly. Quite often people advertise they have a position available but do not spell out what is expected. Many people waste their time and money trying to get a job for which they are not qualified.

    If they more properly spell out expectations, people who’ve been burned before applying for jobs may realize they actually have a shot at this one.

    And for those saying they don’t have an opportunity to apply because it is only open when they are at work, you might consider asking a friend to turn in a job application for you or you might consider asking your current employer for time off to apply for a different job. If he’s any good, he’ll work with you; if he isn’t, you don’t really like working for him anyway.

    David knowing some employers give raises to keep good workers
    and time off to get rid of bad ones

  5. lisa on April 8th, 2010 8:40 am

    This is stupid! I tried to apply for it and no one at the City Hall or at the Work for EscaRosa knew if they were even taking applications yet! And this was just yesterday! Sounds to me like the town of century needs to get their stuff together!!

  6. A Watchman on April 8th, 2010 6:34 am

    At one time, I believe the salary was reported to be in the nix-$40’s or around $20 per hour. The Clerks position is a very powerful position too.

  7. DO WHAT ? on April 7th, 2010 9:52 pm

    The council must be out of touch with reality no one applied after one running of the ledger will just raise the standards. welcome to century corporate headquarters of America. Laughter is the best medicine.

  8. Terri Sanders on April 7th, 2010 7:32 pm

    If I remember correctly the salary is very lucrative for this area and the benefits are otta sight! It is a known fact if you want a cushy job,Century is the place to be.I don’t want a cushy job,I just want a local job close to home!

  9. Terri Sanders on April 7th, 2010 7:31 pm

    Too bad the council up and changed it before I could get my application in.They only had it in the Tri City Ledger one week(I think).If no one applies this time I will submit my application.Hmmmm…no applications?I would think the requirements would be lessened not moved up.

  10. out of step on April 7th, 2010 7:24 pm

    HEY, I WANT TO KNOW IF ANY…..OF THE CLERKS, SECRETARIES, MAYOR ANY OF THE PEOPLE NOW HOLDING THESE POSITION “QUALIFY” FOR THEIR POSITIONS?
    DO THEY? IF THEY ARE NOT QUALIFIED THEN LET’S ROLL THEM OVER AND GET THE ‘QUALIFIED’ FOLKS HERE.

  11. William on April 7th, 2010 6:43 pm

    >Where was the job offer posted at ???? My sister has been looking for it, in the paper and here on northescambia.com.

    The Town of Century did not place the ad with NorthEscambia.com — they did not even ask or consider it. It was only placed in the Tri-City Ledger.

  12. fishy on April 7th, 2010 6:42 pm

    Where was the job offer posted at ???? My sister has been looking for it, in the paper and here on northescambia.com. Maybe the town of century did not want anyone to apply???? So this could be done, Sounds like pres Ann Brooks needs to move if she thinks the town clerk needs these qulifications? Or do you think its so no one will apply (because who around here has an Associates Degree and everything eles they want that aready does not have a good job) and Ann Brooks can step in and take the job???????? SOUNDS AND SMELLS FISHY TO ME!!!!!!

  13. none on April 7th, 2010 3:22 pm

    it shouldn’t matter what the job pays or if there are any benefits…there are so many people out of work now, any pay would put food on the table and make someone feel like they were at least contributing to society and making their own way…other than being on food stamps and or welfare

  14. hotrod on April 7th, 2010 3:15 pm

    Is the Town Clerk of Century required to be a resident of Century?
    How much does the position of Town Clerk of Century pay?
    Does it offer benefits like group health insurnce or Florida Retirement System?
    Can northescambia.com get that info and share it perhaps?
    City Hall will not answer these questions and refers to Workforce Escarosa who refers to their Employ Florida website which does not list the job.
    Only other option suggested was to personally come to Century Workforce Escarosa office Monday through Thursday 8 to 4 (which working folks cannot do).
    This scenario makes it hard for folks to get info necessary to see if want to apply.

  15. BLONDIE on April 7th, 2010 9:31 am

    why is the standard so high now it wasnt that high when the town clerk start she was working the front desk now all of a sudden you need all these degrees i smell some rats….

  16. cygie on April 7th, 2010 8:09 am

    If they advertised and received no response, why make the standards more stringent? Do they think alot of Century residents hold an Associates Degree? Maybe it’s just that nobody wants to get involved with the infighting and politics of the town.

  17. Oversight on April 7th, 2010 5:40 am

    What’s the pay? Probably $7.25 an hour with no benefits, so no wonder nobody applied for the job.