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Escambia Public Safety Director Jason Rogers Resigns, Cites Family Health Issue
December 8, 2020
Escambia County Public Safety Director Jason Rogers has resigned just a few months after taking the job.
“As you are aware, after I had started in June there was a significant medical event in my immediate family,” Rogers said in his resignation letter. “Since that time unforeseen complications have compounded making my departure necessary. I want to maintain a professional distance and don’t wish to disclose the private circumstances as I realize this is a public record.”
Rogers was hired in May started work with Escambia County in June, bringing 27 years of public safety experience from Indiana to Escambia County. He served as both the director of emergency management and as the executive director of the Delaware County Emergency Medical Services in Muncie, Indiana, and began his career as a paramedic and police officer. Delaware County, Indiana, has a population of about 114,000 people, about one-third the size of Escambia County.
“My family has always sacrificed for me over the past 20+ years of my public service. I am choosing to resign to support and care for my family as they have always done for me,” Rogers wrote in his letter to Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley.
Rogers indicated that he would work out the timing of his departure with Gilley.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
10 Responses to “Escambia Public Safety Director Jason Rogers Resigns, Cites Family Health Issue”
STAUP IT,
While it is true the Dr. Edler did make news by accusing the four people who were arrested (and many others who weren’t) of breaking the law, and that the State’s Attorney’s Office has charged four of them with crimes, they have not yet been found guilty of any of those crimes, let alone all of them, and are innocent of breaking the law until actually proven guilty of doing so.
The fact that you actually think that Steven Barry, Jeff Bergosh, Lumon May, and Grover Robinson named the Public Forum after Gary Sansing as a mocking gesture, rather than out of deep affection for a local advocate and character who is just as greatly missed as he was greatly loved, tells anyone reading your comment all they have to know about how much you understand about not just Escambia politics in particular, but an honorable life in general.
It would be one of the greatest honors of my life to be taken for another Gary Sansing. Sadly, I couldn’t begin to aspire to the ferocity of his tenacity and the depth of his care for the community. So instead I’ll just continue to consider it an honor to stand at a podium named for him. And hope maybe once in a while he’s a better angel hovering around the public speakers there from time to time.
Pino… if one in your household would not post publicly that you both think Trump supporters need to be scraped off the bottom of your shoes like dog turds and YOU yourself wouldn’t be so hateful– some of what you think might be considered. Maybe.
Your lawsuit with Med director is a public record, as is the news that people at the county were breaking the law, as she brought forth.
You publicly say Trump supporters are disillusion-al. You write well but it looks like great info in– yet over time what you process comes out is about as distorted as it could possibly be.
You look like the guy named Chase that comments on facebook and tries to get elected and signed up as a write in. You are regarded in the same category.
Keep it up if you want to. Inside joke. They named the public forum what they did at the county as an inside joke — as well as the “bluer” ponds. You are next in line.
The county should hire Melissa Pino as county administrator to straighten out everything she know it all.
Of course Janice Gilley didn’t create the chaos at the County, whisperjet.
She just capitalized on it by using the problems that were already in existence to justify instituting a titanic bureaucracy for her self-serving power hunger. And, in doing so, has exacerbated every problem that already existed at the County ten-fold. That’s all.
Melissa Pino, one has nothing to do with the other in reality. Having a Fire Chief is a must. Having a a Public Safety director is also necessary. He is leaving for family issues, nothing more unless he has told you something we are not privy too.
Why dont you apply for these positions? I understand you may not be qualified, but you can be trained. Or maybe the qualifications can be lowered for you and you can be hired for your passion and love for the county. Fire and EMS need leadership and a voice for logistical support as well as public support.
Janice Gilly has done and will continue to do an excellent job in her position. She is a person known for her integrity and morality, as well as her family. She is doing her best in a difficult situation trying to find ways to improve and build up our county government. Instead of criticizing her, pray for her, pray for the BOCC, and others involved that they’ll step up and do the right thing every time.
..obviously , we all know Janice did not create the chaos that has been evolving for years…but she took the job to try to get the county back on an even keel…with her hard work ethic and unchallenged integrity and some common sense , she tried to fix some of the leaks in a sinking ship..
She works hard everyday to find solutions to the counties troubles…there are always people on the sidelines who think they have all the answers..but it appears that some of them have way too time on their hand..
Mr Roger’s always said.”look for the helpers”…just saying..
I’m sure Mrs Gilley appreciates the consulting service from Melissa Pino.
I’m sorry for the medical difficulty in Mr. Rogers’s family and wish him and his family well in health matters.
The following comment has nothing to do with Mr. Rogers in particular or his performance during his brief tenure as our Public Safety Director:
**There is zero way that the Fire Chief hiring should proceed given these circumstances.**
Although the BOCC of course can’t interfere in hires and fires, as the policy makers they certainly can make determinations as to *how* a hire is conducted, and its proper parameters, and in this instance they certainly should.
Ms. Gilley’s search for an outstanding professional chief was already hindered by dint of her dropping not just the salary but also the qualifications for this role. Her reasoning behind this was inconsistent with other hires, and many assume she did so because she had already targeted a particular person for the role.
While some things move very slowly at the County–such as the public records request on the advertisement for the role that I wasn’t provided with until just after it closed–it sounds as if the winnowing for this role is happening very quickly.
For months, Ms. Gilley’s argument for why there was no Fire Chief was that we had to get a Public Safety Director firmly in place. Now the Public Safety Director is leaving, and we’re trying to get a Fire Chief in place before he goes. Makes no sense at all, unless Ms. Gilley plans on leaving Eric Gilmore as the head of Public Safety, which was her rumored intention to begin with, until some people called foul on sliding him over from EOC.
Whatever the case, this spells one thing, and that’s more chaos for our first responders and other employees of Fire and EMS. Let’s not fool ourselves that another of Ms. Gilley’s half-baked searches will result in a full-baked solution for what ails these departments. The employees and the citizens of Escambia deserve better than that. We’ve been patient long enough for Escambia Administration to get its act together on solving the leadership crisis that is contributing to our current Public Safety crisis.
Another official is out in the never ending carousel revolving door of escambia county. What I’m thinking is, all the new people are seeing how badly the operation is run and are jumping ship because it’s not worth the headaches and stress. Glad Mr. Roger’s realized his family was more important that this head ache.