Mayor Wanted To Hire New Century Utilities Boss At $50K A Year. Council Says Not Without Seeing A Resume.

June 4, 2020

Century Mayor Henry Hawkins wanted to hire a new gas and water superintendent this week for nearly $50,000 a year, but town council members put the brakes on his request because they were not provided with enough information.

Hawkins told the council that the man is from the local area, was qualified for the job and has worked for another utility system for the past six months. The mayor verbally asked for approval to hire the man at $24 an hour, but did not provide the council with a resume or any other written information.

His salary would have mostly been covered by budgeted funds that became available the departure of longtime Century employee Joe Brown.

Council members deferred a vote to hire the new employee until they received a resume and additional information. They also questioned when the position was actually advertised.

Wednesday afternoon, Interim City Manager Vernon Prather said the man has withdrawn his application.

A similar position was advertised once on March 12 in the weekly Tri-City Ledger newspaper at a cost of $214.50, according to documents provided by the town. The application closing date was April 9. There was only the one applicant, Hawkins told the council.

The employment ad was not submitted to NorthEscambia.com for publication. NorthEscambia.com publishes public notices and employment ads at no cost to the Town of Century, and the council voted several years ago to submit all ads and public notices NorthEscambia.com in addition to any other publications.

Editor’s note: It should be noted that Hawkins named the individual during the meeting, as his application is public record. Since the individual has withdrawn his application and is employed elsewhere, NorthEscambia.com has chosen not to name him because we don’t know if he told his current employer he was seeking another position. We do not wish endanger the man’s current job. We did receive a copy of the resume.

Comments

13 Responses to “Mayor Wanted To Hire New Century Utilities Boss At $50K A Year. Council Says Not Without Seeing A Resume.”

  1. Common Sense on June 4th, 2020 11:30 pm

    Sounds like someone trying to put their buddy in office. Part of what’s wrong with this country.

  2. DK on June 4th, 2020 10:36 pm

    I smell another rat as fat as a cat?Just curious what would they pay the new employee with air because ain’t no money it’s all disappeared over the last couple of years?

  3. Greg Culpepper on June 4th, 2020 9:56 pm

    They should hire Keith Stanton from Jay , Fl
    He’s a waste water superintendent with over 30 plus years with city of Navarre and city of Jay , a lot of folks know him and his qualifications.

  4. Just asking on June 4th, 2020 3:31 pm

    Where are the council.members resumés?

  5. Resident on June 4th, 2020 12:01 pm

    Wow. For once the council did something right. Very responsible of them to not hire someone they know nothing about. He could be the area’s best gas man, but they needed a resume and references.

  6. Big Boy on June 4th, 2020 11:07 am

    Did we ever find out if Mr. Hawkins was receiving free gas or water. I’m sure he wants to protect his intrest by hiring one of the good ole boys.

  7. bob on June 4th, 2020 10:11 am

    They are so corrupt and they don’t even hide it!!!!!

  8. retired on June 4th, 2020 9:35 am

    Mr William—-employment ads at no cost to the Town of Century,

    You forgot to give them a kick back, under the table

  9. chris on June 4th, 2020 9:15 am

    The town of Century is one big joke.

  10. John Doe on June 4th, 2020 9:04 am

    My mom makes 50K working at WalMart.

  11. X-man on June 4th, 2020 7:52 am

    Figures. Sounds like the mayor is trying to hire his cronies and further take Century into a third world run type nosedive .

  12. Dave on June 4th, 2020 6:48 am

    No resume required. I wish I had known when this job was posted and I could have watched a few you tube videos on installing a gas meter and jumped on the Century gravy train. The $24 a hour is just the starting pay. Think about all of the other perks available. Free gas, interest free loans financed for hundreds of years, uncensored credit card use, free inmate labor and immunity from any and all allegations real or otherwise.
    There was only one applicate because it was advertised in the Tri City Ledger and this alone makes it seem suspicious because of the very limited reader base of such a small newspaper and was likely done only to cover the legal side of having to advertise the position. Then again maybe not because “the legal side” of Century City Councel does not exist. King Hawkins has made his pick so stay tuned to see how they spin this so the Only applicate can take over this position.

  13. Bigblock345 on June 4th, 2020 6:25 am

    Northescambia.com / Mr William = Integrity