Century Trying Again To Hire Two; Council Has Rejected The Mayor’s Choices Twice, Accused Him Of Charter Violation

July 8, 2021

Century’s attempt to hire two employees has dragged on for months, and now they are going to try again. The problem has not been a lack of applications, but a lack of agreement between the mayor and council.

It has been a process that started in early February and has seen the council reject the mayor’s choices twice, a somewhat awkward meeting where a female applicant was twice called a “beautiful woman” by the council president, and allegations by council members that the mayor violated the town charter.

This week, councilman James Smith said the town needed to get back on track to hire the two employees, saying it was only fair to advertise again and toss previous applications. The positions will be posted for 30 days.

Here’s the process so far:

February 2

The town submitted the advertisement for the position to NorthEscambia.com and others for publication.

March 15

The Century Town Council rejected two employees hired by the mayor because they say he violated the town’s charter. After the town received five applications for an entry-level service worker in the street department and 50 applications for a citizen services clerk office position, Mayor Ben Boutwell and staff members made their selections and offered jobs to two people. The service worker was already on the job, and the clerk was set to start a few days later.

The service worker the mayor hired had nine years experience as millwright at a lumber mill, five years in maintenance at a chemical plant, and six years in home construction. The office worker selected by Boutwell had almost 20 years experience at an area bank as a bookkeeper, loan assistance, teller and accounts payable clerk, and holds an associate degree from Pensacola Junior College.

Council president Luis Gomez said the two were not hired in accordance with the town charter. The charter states that the mayor will present his employee selections to the town council to be approved or denied. The council can only vote yes or no on the mayor’s choice; the charter does not give the council any authority to hire anyone not recommended by the mayor.

At that March 15 meeting, the council voted 3-2 to restart the process and advertise the positions again. Council members James Smith and Sandra McMurray Jackson in opposition.

May 3

The council again rejected Boutwell’s request to hire the same two applicants.

Gomez said he had personally contacted the references listed by the service worker applicant and had found he was terminated for just cause and was not eligible for rehired by a former employer. Gomez made additional disparaging comments about the individual.

The council provided no next step for the hiring process.

May 17

The applicant recommended by the mayor and rejected by the council for an entry level window citizens services clerk attended a council meeting wanting to know the status of the job. Gomez told her that he would never consider her for the job, and in a verbal exchange twice referred to her as a “beautiful woman.”

Gomez said he regretted that the woman was essentially caught in the rift between the council and mayor because her application was received last November but the position was not advertised until early February. “What I’m saying is I hate this beautiful woman is tied up in the middle of all this,” he said.

“I know you are a beautiful person. I would love to have lunch with you, even buy you lunch because I know you’re a beautiful person and probably have a beautiful family,” Gomez told Daniel. “But this is business. And please don’t take it personal.”

Comments

14 Responses to “Century Trying Again To Hire Two; Council Has Rejected The Mayor’s Choices Twice, Accused Him Of Charter Violation”

  1. A.W.Thompson on July 11th, 2021 8:13 pm

    Maybe the 40.00 HR. man should be asked he got hooked up.As they say in Jersey it gets worsa and worsa and worsa.Shame on the mess they’re all working with chaos,reminds me of across the line.A.W.Thompson

  2. Anonymous on July 9th, 2021 10:35 am

    We all have our own opinions, but not all of the council members have been against the mayor,there are a couple who voted yes on a lot of things. How can judge all of them just because one council member won’t jump on the band wagon and vote a certain way?

  3. Citizen on July 8th, 2021 11:01 pm

    Quit being stupid, council.

  4. Well on July 8th, 2021 7:34 pm

    Typical Government in general.
    Everyone wants to be in charge and always right.

    Not work together and try to improve the Town.

  5. Chris on July 8th, 2021 4:20 pm

    Imagine how Century looks to a prospective business owner, looking for a new location.

  6. Bewildered on July 8th, 2021 10:36 am

    No need to fill the positions. Gomez and the rest of the crew should get on the job training for these positions and go to work – do something useful for a change.

  7. Dawn C on July 8th, 2021 10:24 am

    Unfortunately, as a Century resident I say this not to be funny, but because it is close to reality. This could be a sitcom. A reality TV show of sorts for viewers entertainment.

    As I sit on my couch, disheartened by the recent events, I took a step back and took my heart out of the equation. I began to laugh thinking about how outsiders would see Century government. Its laughable. I say that with a heavy heart of sorts because I love where I live. We just have to straighten up.

  8. J-THE-G on July 8th, 2021 9:23 am

    Century just need to be dissolved and have the charter revoked. Completely useless council that consists of nothing but worthless people.

  9. Kenneth Shaw on July 8th, 2021 9:05 am

    The entire century government needs to be overseen and governed by the escambia county board of commissioners. There is way too much controversy for a local government.

  10. Jody on July 8th, 2021 8:59 am

    They need to get rid of Gomez. This “beautiful woman” seems to have lots of experience. The service worker is already on the job, so why not hire him? What does this man want?

  11. judy on July 8th, 2021 7:42 am

    ” if these positions have been vacant for almost a year, and TOC seems to be functioning at it’s normal inept level, why fill them at all?”

    This is an excellent sensible question! Anybody got an answer? Or does the Town Charter, (which is suddenly being followed why?) say they must have them in place…because they have so much money and all! :(

  12. M in Bratt on July 8th, 2021 5:46 am

    How do you spell dysfunctional? The question I would have is; if these positions have been vacant for almost a year, and TOC seems to be functioning at it’s normal inept level, why fill them at all?

  13. area resident on July 8th, 2021 5:14 am

    What a joke! These are adults, trying to run a small town, kindergarten style. Sounds like the US House holding it over the President. Vote them all out!

  14. JTV on July 8th, 2021 4:18 am

    This circus act needs bigger, better fireworks

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News