Century Town Clerk Out On Leave; Town To Hire Temp Interim Clerk

April 17, 2024

The Century Town Council voted Tuesday night to seek a temporary interim town clerk.

“Yes, Leslie (Howington) is still the town clerk, but she’s out for a couple of weeks,” Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. said of Town Clerk Leslie Howington.

“There’s a lot of work because we have these new city managers, and we have a lot of moving parts, and it’s getting a little bit overwhelming for Leslie…getting overwhelming for the office staff,” he said. “We are calling in the temp to do an assessment to see how we can keep everything moving in the office and catch up a lot of work that’s missing this (council) table. There’s stuff on this agenda that should have been carried two months ago.”

“At not at liberty to discuss why Ms. Howington is not here, but she’s still employed here and she’s still our clerk,” the mayor said. “With that said, we need help, whether she was here tomorrow, we still need that help.”

Howington told NorthEscambia.com Tuesday that she is on temporary medical leave and did not wish to disclose her specific circumstances.

Gomez said the hire would be like a contract, paid from American Rescue Plan funds and could be limited to a day or two per week using a temporary service.

The council voted to authorize Gomez to retain a temp service to provide interim town clerk services for a period not to exceed six months. The council did not specify a dollar limit or budget.

Howington was Century town clerk from 2010-2018 before resigning for another position. She was rehired in 2021.

Pictured: Century Town Clerk Leslie Howington uses her phone to find information for council members during a Century Town Council meeting. NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

8 Responses to “Century Town Clerk Out On Leave; Town To Hire Temp Interim Clerk”

  1. Seen it before on April 18th, 2024 1:37 am

    I think the charter states the council president is supposed to prepare the agenda for the council meeting.

    I think it’s a coup d etat though… from “the network”.

    Who knows, maybe they will be able to accomplish great things…

  2. IMHO on April 18th, 2024 12:09 am

    Too bad they couldn’t get Heath some help in the water department. Seems like he was overwhelmed too.

  3. Anne on April 17th, 2024 6:48 pm

    RUN….RUN AWAY for your own good any “Temporary Clerk”
    There are things afoot at the Century Town Council that you Do NOT want to be a part of. Bringing in a Temp to Fix Things sounds like a Set-Up to find a Fall Guy or Fall Woman to get heaped upon with charges for old misdeeds.
    Nope….Don’t take the job.
    One commenter noted the planned “Cross-Training” and that should be their resource.

  4. Well on April 17th, 2024 4:32 pm

    I seem to remember a big fuss a while back about cross training.
    Anyone with a little vision can see where cross training might could keep you out of some of this mess you’re in.

    Assuming you have someone to begin with that knows how to do their job and could teach someone else.

  5. Superdupper on April 17th, 2024 3:16 pm

    You have to keep your “house” in order to prevent being overwhelmed at your job.
    Gomez should not have let this mess become so big it’s employees don’t know where to start and their frustration in getting things done results in quitting, need time off.etc.
    Get it in order Gomez.

  6. More Than Meets the Eye on April 17th, 2024 3:06 pm

    “We are calling in the temp to do an assessment to see how we can keep everything moving in the office and catch up a lot of work that’s missing this (council) table. There’s stuff on this agenda that should have been carried two months ago.”

    That tells you all you need to know. The Temp Agency and the person to be hired are already in place. No temporary employee is going to come into a situation they know nothing about and provide an assessment to see how to keep everything moving.

  7. Kane on April 17th, 2024 11:39 am

    Looks like soon Century will have a whole new council they didn’t vote for made up of interim folk’s handpicked by the once interim mayor. How long until they drain those ARP funds while not getting anything done? I drove through Century a couple weeks ago and the roads are terrible there not to mention they could use some pressure washing on those buildings in the “historical” district. All that money and none of it to help those poor citizens.

  8. Brian on April 17th, 2024 10:06 am

    If your dream is to be in the news, for good or bad, get a job with the Town of Century.