Century Extends Town Management Services Contact With South Florida Company; One Council Member Objects

November 20, 2024

The Century Town Council voted 4-1 Tuesday night to extend a contract with a South Florida company to manage many of the town’s operations, but one council member objected saying the same invoices have been paid multiple times under his watch. Council member Shelisa McCall also questioned what happened to the money and alluded to a leadership problem.

In December 2023, the town accepted a city management company proposal after newly appointed Century interim Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. told the council that he would need help to properly run the town.

The town signed a contract with Local Government Consulting Group (LGCG) of West Palm Beach for up to six months for $7,500 per month.

Under a contract amendment approve June 18, 2024, the rate for LGCG increased to $8,000 per month for town manager services for six months. The town will pay an additional $3,000 per month for grant writing services and $175 per hour for Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Consulting Services.

LGCG will also serve as “Coordinator of Ongoing Projects Services” for $40 per hour.

The new agreement approved Tuesday night will extend the contract under the same rates and terms until June 12, 2025.

LGCG representatives Howard W. Brown Jr., Erin Connelly, and Cheryl Harrison-Lee will provide the various services.

“Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to work for the Town of Century,” Brown said Tuesday night. “I’ve been very happy to serve you guys in this capacity, and I think the new few months might be critical for us to set up some goals.”

“In the next few months, we’ll start putting together an action plan on specifically the town clerk position and the town manager-administrator position,” he continued. “There are things I think would be critical for you was you move forward. You need to have someone in some sort of management capacity.”

“Mr. Brown had been critical in the operation. We have accomplished a major deal of work, and it shows,” Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. said. “He has done tremendous work in bringing issues to light that was never discovered before he came.”

“I said when I took this seat that I felt that the town always needs some sort of administrative leadership, whether it’s Mr. Brown or anybody else. I think it’s critical that we keep some type of day-to-day operations experience of how to operate a city. Hats off to all the previous mayors before me, but my choice is to have someone here to find stuff that I would never think of looking. And that doesn’t mean that I’m incompetent; it’s just that there are specialists for everything, and Mr. Brown is an operation of a city specialist.”

“I appreciate all the work that you put in,” council president Dynette Lewis told Brown. “Any person in this room that volunteered into the at position (town mayor) would need some help…That position does require a little bit more assistance. No one in this room would be able to roll into a roll like that without some type of assistance.”

Before casting the dissenting vote, Council member Shelisa McCall, who attended the meeting remotely by video (pictured left), said she’s noticed a problem with invoices and perhaps management this year.

“In the past six months, we have voted to pay the same three invoices twice,” she said. “When we voted the second time to the exact same invoice, who was paid or where the money went?”

McCall said she voted against paying the invoice more than once, and she declined to name the vendor or specific invoices when asked by Lewis. She did say the invoices were not from Brown or his company.

McCall also expressed that “after every meeting or so”, someone (an employee) just leaves abruptly without an explanation, and I my experience when that happens, it speaks to leadership.”

Pictured top: Howard Brown (left) whose company Local Government Consulting Group acts as town manager for Century and Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. following Tuesday night’s meeting. Pictured top inset: Brown watches a monitor asc ouncil member Shelisa McCall (bottom inset) spoke at the meeting by video. Pictured first below: Brown addresses the council. Pictured bottom: Council members (L-R) Sandra McMurray-Jackson, Dynette Lewis, Henry Cunningham and Alicia Johnson. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Century Extends Town Management Services Contact With South Florida Company; One Council Member Objects”

  1. northender on November 22nd, 2024 7:18 pm

    My thoughts are that no politician is going to care about Century because there aren’t enough votes and not enough money involved to make it worth their while to do anything about it which is why this ridiculousness has went on for so long.

  2. Dottie.Beligo on November 21st, 2024 7:55 pm

    Thuggery in city government is never good

  3. same ol same ol on November 20th, 2024 7:50 pm

    “doesn’t mean you’re incompetent”???

    You said you were incompetent when you took the job….(correction position.)

  4. Jim on November 20th, 2024 3:51 pm

    Gomez and town council before you send all of the citizens money to south Florida where Century will never see a penny of it again. How about saving a dime or two to work on the sorry roads in Century and maybe put a little paint of the speed bumps where it’s faded out.

  5. Jim on November 20th, 2024 1:06 pm

    So, just what purpose does Gomez serve? Could we not just choose, from the ballot box, which out-of-town personality will fill that seat and, thereby, eliminate the middle man?

  6. Citizen on November 20th, 2024 11:48 am

    To Amazed Again

    Saltzman did not order an operational audit through JLAC nor is she working to provide oversite and solutions.
    McCall is trying. It’s to the point the Madden/Marceille States Attn should look at this again.

    Salzman will not get my vote if she ignores this.

  7. Citizen on November 20th, 2024 11:37 am

    Also no town clerk nor billing clerk there. Thought Saltzman was going to introunce legislation to disincorporate.
    This is ridiculous.

  8. JJ on November 20th, 2024 10:42 am

    How many big cities hires a TOWN MANAGEMENT COMPANY, does Pensacola City have one,NOOOO!
    TIME FOR A FULL AUDIT BY THE STATE…

  9. Bill T on November 20th, 2024 9:44 am

    I would be willing to say something ain’t right about the way this town is run. And as it goes some of the people running it will eventually get caught and go to prison. Stay tuned you’ll see !!!!

  10. Willis on November 20th, 2024 9:05 am

    Good job LGCG.
    The sheep needed shearing and there you were…..

  11. Jan on November 20th, 2024 8:46 am

    These people are clowns.

  12. JW on November 20th, 2024 8:43 am

    Once again, thank you Shelisa for being the voice or reason and not rubber stamp everything these men are trying to pull off. This management group is a farce.
    Why does no one else see duplicate payments?

  13. Amazed Again on November 20th, 2024 8:40 am

    Have we truly reached a point where the main qualification to be Mayor is hiring others to do your job for you who are slightly more competent at it than you are.

    I see that Rep. Michelle Salzman is running for Gatez seat. Perhaps voters should remember the fine job she has done getting the State of Florida to take a strong look at Century.

  14. OhYouKnow on November 20th, 2024 8:27 am

    Can we get a background check, to include education and any criminal history, done on all the members of the council and the Mayor plus the Mini-Me mayor?