Escambia County Hires Two New Assistant County Administrators, Including A Tate High Graduate

April 3, 2020

The Escambia County Commission voted to hire two assistant county administrators during their meeting Thursday night at the recommendation of County Administrator Janice Gilley.

Debbie Bowers is a 1979 graduate of Tate High School. She’s currently employed as the managing director of DL Bowers Advisors, a Pensacola consulting partnership. She spent 10 years as chief commercial officer for the City of Los Angeles, five years with Broward County in roles that included interim deputy airport director for administration and an assistant to the county administrator.

Wesley Hall has served the past year as the interim county administrator for Gadsden County, Florida, spent six years at the revenue officer for the City of Tallahassee, operated several McDonald’s restaurants from 2005 to 2001 and was director of sales for the Florida Lottery from 2000 to 2005.

Bowers and Hall will each receive an annual salary of $136,000, a $400 monthly vehicle allowance, and up to $5,000 for relocation expenses. Both were budgeted positions.

Comments

12 Responses to “Escambia County Hires Two New Assistant County Administrators, Including A Tate High Graduate”

  1. JTV on April 5th, 2020 9:07 pm

    I can guarantee, Janice Gilley and the rest of the county cronies couldn’t care less how the rest of us feel about this fraud, waste and abuse in our tax dollars.

  2. Patriot on April 4th, 2020 6:19 pm

    With individuals in the county workforce not even making a livable wage and this? Maybe it’s time for the private sector to provide many of these services.

  3. patriot on April 4th, 2020 6:11 pm

    The whole local government is filled will the “friends and family plan”. Some departments can’t get any decent help because of the low pay scale. This is an insult to most of the hourly wage earners in county employment. Let them eat cake.

  4. Jaded on April 4th, 2020 8:16 am

    Appears this is a slap in the face to current County Employees. Seems our CA has been doing a few things that were addressed in her “100 Day Listening, Learning and Leading Strategy”. Being a current employee for the County, I have yet to see or be involved in one of her line items that states she would engage in Frontline Employee Listening Sessions. I believe that these salaries would have been better spent on increasing current employee salaries. There was also a pilot study was that was suppose to be put in place to increase new employee wages while forgetting about existing employees and what they are currently being paid. I could go on, but I will just leave this here and hope she may read my comment. Janice Gilley this is clearly bad timing for these hires seeing our current state of events and economic situation.
    #ExistingEmployeesFirst

  5. tom on April 4th, 2020 6:42 am

    The county can’t afford to pay employees a decent wage, but can afford to create 2 administrative positions. They need to realize, the County will exist with upper management, but cannot exist without everyday workers

  6. Rkp on April 3rd, 2020 6:54 pm

    $136k to be an assistant? Plus $400 a month for a vehicle? I’ll be happy to come out of retirement for that.

  7. John Doe on April 3rd, 2020 4:57 pm

    Tom, you must know something that we don’t. ; )

  8. Thomas Turner on April 3rd, 2020 4:17 pm

    Good luck…..

  9. JTV on April 3rd, 2020 3:20 pm

    Over $1/4 million a year for two positions. I smell corruption.

  10. Resident on April 3rd, 2020 12:19 pm

    “We are one of the poorest counties in the state and we hire not one but two assistants. This seems strange. Were these positions advertised or does county administrator appoint? ”

    1. Escambia County is in the top half of the state in per capita income, not one of the poorest.
    2. Of course it was advertised.

  11. Just asking on April 3rd, 2020 12:13 pm

    We are one of the poorest counties in the state and we hire not one but two assistants. This seems strange. Were these positions advertised or does county administrator appoint? Wow is all I can say. And people in this town complain teachers, fire fighters, police make too much money for this county. They just chose the wrong line of work. That’s sarcasm.

  12. Lou on April 3rd, 2020 7:34 am

    Wow….that’s some salaries for this area….what’s missing from your story…what are they hired to do? What are they going to do for the taxpayers that are funding their salaries? Would one position not be enough?