Latest Headlines
- ‘A Lifesaver’: Ribbon Cut On Inmate-Built Tiny Home At Century Prison
- Cantonment Man Arrested on Multiple Drug and Firearm Charges After Search Warrant
- River Annex Road In Cantonment Closed Due To Perdido River Floodwaters
- Cantonment Man Charged With Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon
- Free Mississippi State, Florida, LSU Women’s Soccer Games Saturday At Ashton Brosnaham
- Beulah Middle School Media Specialist Gardner Honored With Association Award
- Nine Local Students Named Florida FFA 2025 State Degree Candidates
- Driver’s License, Tag, Tax Collector Services Available Next Week In Century
- Flooding Collapses Road, Closes Bridges, Causes Wreck
- Walking Path, Parking Expanded At Cantonment’s Recently Opened Paper Park
Century Council Refuses To Hire Mayor’s Recommendations Without Proper Advertising
April 3, 2025
This week the Century Town Council refused to hire new employees recommended by the interim mayor until the council is confident that the positions were probably advertised.
Billy J. “BJ” Johnson applied March 12 for a position described as “gas department employee” in the town’s natural gas department, where he previously worked for about a decade. Interim Mayor Alicia Johnson requested permission to rehire him, saying that he holds several needed certifications. The town charter requires the council to approve all hires by the mayor.
The interim mayor said the position has been advertised for many months, but she was unable to provide the council with any proof or say where and exactly when the position was advertised. Billy Johnson was the only applicant. It was established during council discussions that the position was not posted to the town website.
She said that the town gas department would be out of compliance without the hire,
Johnson had two other positions on the agenda with recommended hires but withdrew her request. On a motion by council member Henry Cunningham and a second by Shelisa McCall, the council voted to have the interim town manager develop basic job descriptions and advertisements for the positions and ensure that the jobs were probably advertised.
She said about dozen open positions need to be advertised.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
13 Responses to “Century Council Refuses To Hire Mayor’s Recommendations Without Proper Advertising”
How is this the council’s fault, the manager of the city should have known that position was open. Understand the duties of the council before you pass judgment. There should be someone there that’s a manager that handles what items that are brought to the council for a vote and to ensure that policy is followed when doing so.
Couldn’t pour koolaid out of a boot with instructions on the heel .
Funny how the exact same town council tried to not pay B.J. the money he was rightfully owed in vacation pay. I mean it was an article on north Escambia
Looks like Mayor Boutwell will inherit an obstructionist city council when he takes the reins. I hope he takes a page from President Reagan who, when faced with an obstructionist Congress, took it to the people through the media to whip up support for his agenda.
Century has potential but those politicians who don’t support what is best for the town need to be removed at the ballot box. If they’re more interested in “putting a new roof on the church” than making the “trains run on time” they need to be voted out (look up those terms if you will)….the problem in some towns is that some vote demographics and democrats over getting things done.
I know something has to give took two months of calling everyday to figure out why my bill was over 500$ for 200 gallons of water.
We need to get people to run to get these town council members out they do not care about century all they want is there little 300 dollars a month they let Gomez’s hire who ever he wanted but not someone who makes sense to help with gas and water I wish escambia county or Pensacola would take this town over and we all pay our utilities to them just so town of century is done away with & Ben I hope you can get something done when u come back to the office because looks like the town council wants there buddies hired just as sorry as they are
Checks and Balances.
But as DHG suggests, not gonna be a long list of applicants.
Let alone certified individuals.
@Kane.. You have Mr Johnson confused. He was a gas employee which resigned a year ago for a better job opprtunity now wanting to return. You are referring to Heath Baker who was over the water/sewer department.
You would think the interim mayor would know the proper hiring policy. Glad to see the council following proper hiring procedures going forward. But to state the gas department would be out of compliance without the hire, no one has been in this position since Mr Johnson left with the “required certificates” so what’s the real agenda?
They might get into compliance in the meantime by hiring BJ as a consultant.
Then properly advertise and hire out of the huge number of applicants.
Wait wait wait you mean to tell me the same town council that approved both of Gomez’s out of town “advisory” hires without a bat of an eye with no advertising and they were known associates of Gomes??? To top it off it’s the employee that Gomez and the entire council tried to pin the poor water quality of Century on? The ONLY employee of said waters system that filled all 7 of the needed positions??? Need to get a whole new council at least now we know for a fact it wasn’t just Gomez.
Hurry Hurry Hurry Come one Come all the Century Circus is still in town.
No relation between those two for sure. I am guessing. Wheres the NEW mayor coming on?
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss