Escambia County Needs Appointees For Committees

August 24, 2015

The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is seeking Escambia County residents interested in volunteering for appointments to the Escambia County Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) and the Human Services Appropriations Committee (HSAC).

Merit System Protection Board

The MSPB was created to provide a fair and equitable mechanism for the expeditious review of appeals and grievances of the classified employees of the County before a non-partisan deliberative body. County Ordinance 2005-38 provides the means for a classified, permanent employee under the jurisdiction of the MSPB to appeal disciplinary actions, and provides that these employees may file an appeal or grievance for perceived violations of the Ordinance or the Rules. Presently, the classified employees under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Supervisor of Elections are covered under the MSPB. The term of office is three years.

Qualifications of Board Members

No person shall be appointed to the Merit System Protection Board as a member who:

  1. Has not been a resident of Escambia County for two or more years preceding appointment to the MSPB.
  2. Is holding an elective or appointive office in federal, state, county or municipal government provided that prior appointment as a member of the MSPB shall not disqualify a person from being reappointed.
  3. Held political office in, or was a salaried or hourly employee of Escambia County during the 12 months preceding appointment to the MSPB.
  4. Is a member of the immediate family of a current employee or elected official of Escambia County.
  5. Is a current officer of any union representing employees of Escambia County.
  6. Is working for any vendor who has a current contractual agreement with any participating appointing authority.
  7. Has been convicted of, or has had adjudication withheld of, a felony or any  crime involving moral turpitude.

Qualifications must be maintained throughout the members’ tenure or the member must resign his position on the MSPB.

Attendance

Any member of the MSPB shall be removed and replaced after being absent from more than three consecutive meetings during any calendar year. The MSPB shall determine whether any member’s absence is unexcused.

Compensation of Board Members

The MSPB members shall serve on a voluntary basis and not be financially compensated for their service.

Meeting Schedule

MPSB meetings are held once per month on the second Tuesday; the meeting is generally less than one hour. Hours will vary depending on whether an appeal is being heard from an employee. If hearings are scheduled, they would be held immediately after the meeting. There has been less than one appeal/hearing in the past years.

Human Services Appropriations Committee

The HSAC shall concurrently review agency funding requests to Escambia County and the City of Pensacola, making funding recommendations individually to both bodies in accordance with policy and procedure agreements with each. No members of the Committee shall be a member or employee of, or serve on any board of, any of the requesting agencies reviewed by the Committee. The term of office is three years.

HSAC Process*

The coordination of applications, site visits and oral presentations by United Way of Escambia County takes place from January-May. The partner agencies applying for funding from the Human Services Appropriations Committee are required to submit an application that has the designated HSAC-related application questions, as well as a program budget. Additionally, applying programs are required to host a site visit and provide an oral presentation on their proposal to the HSAC. The funding schedule for the HSAC was changed three years ago to run parallel with the United Way’s Funds Distribution Process. This change was able to create efficiencies in United Way’s staff and volunteer efforts to facilitate this process.

Time Committment

The following is a breakdown approximation of hours served on this Committee:

  • Planning meeting and training for upcoming grant review process: November (2 hours)
  • Grant Application Review and submission of questions to applicants: March (1 hour per application- number of applications vary from year to year)
  • Site Visits/Oral Presentations: April (1.5 hours per applicant plus 15-20 minutes travel time between visits)
  • Scoring of applications and/or site visits: March-Late April (10-15 minutes per application)
  • Final Deliberations/Funding Recommendations meeting: May (2 +/-hours)

*Prepared by: Marlena Davis, Partnership Manager- United Way

Escambia County residents interested in serving on the Merit System Protection Board or the Human Services Appropriations Committee are asked to submit a resume and letter indicating their desire to serve on the applicable Board/Committee by the close of business on Monday, August 31, 2015.  Resumes should be submitted to Judy Witterstaeter, Program Coordinator, Board of County Commissioners, P.O. Box 1591, Pensacola Florida 32502.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News