As Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan continues the administration transition at City Hall and starts to implement her agenda, there could be a leadership change in the city Planning and Development Department.
The city released a job posting on multiple online recruitment platforms over the past seven days for a Director of Planning and Development.
Bill Killingsworth, who’s been the city Planning and Development director since November 2015, has agreed to lead the department until the administration has made a decision about the position, according to city Chief Communications Officer Phil Perry.
And that pick could be Killingsworth.
The salary in the job post is listed at $139,867 to $180,000 annually.
Perry said the administration is looking at a few candidates including the current director. According to Perry, the advertisement is still active and how many candidates will be interviewed has not been determined.
The city’s Planning and Development director is in charge of administering, enforcing and interpreting the city’s zoning code, growth management and making recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council.
The director also coordinates and develops Jacksonville’s resiliency strategy with the city’s chief resiliency officer and the permitting process.
Deegan included $21.72 million in her proposed fiscal year 2023-24 city budget to improve and streamline Jacksonville’s building permit process.
That money would pay for four new staff positions and upgraded technology to make permitting and inspection more efficient.
According to Perry, how a candidate will address the city’s permitting process will be a decision point in the hiring process.
“We do want to move as quickly as we can because one of the main focuses is trying to streamline the permitting process,” Perry said.
When asked July 17 about the planning director job posting, Deegan said it’s important to have someone leading the department “who very intentionally wants to create a resilient city (and) somebody who sees the same vision for how we go forward.”
“And most importantly, somebody who’s willing to say, ‘You know, we don’t have to do things this way just because we’ve always done it this way,’” Deegan said.
“I’m looking for innovative minds that really have the same vision that we have in terms of the priories should be for planning and zoning,” she said. “And a lot of that has to do with putting resilience at the forefront.”
Deegan’s budget includes $65.2 million in stormwater, sea level and infrastructure resilience projects and $21.5 million for shade tree planting and maintenance to help lower temperatures in neighborhoods impacted by excessive heat.
Killingsworth submitted a letter June 12 to the city Employee Services Department to serve as notice of his intent to retire from his appointed position of planning director effective July 29.
But the letter stated his willingness to continue in the job, if asked.
“I am willing to continue to serve the City of Jacksonville under your administration beyond this date, if desired, either temporarily or permanently,” Killingsworth wrote.
“No matter what is ultimately decided, I look forward to making this a smooth transition for your administration.”
Killingsworth has worked for the city of Jacksonville in different positions for nearly 29 years, according to his professional LinkedIn profile.
He left the city for a short stint working for the state. From February 2013 through November 2015, he was the community development director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, before returning to the city as planning director under then Mayor Lenny Curry.
Killingsworth also was the city’s planning director from March 2009 through October 2011 under then Mayor John Peyton.
Before leading the department, Killingsworth spent a year as chief of the Community Planning Division.
He began his work at the city of Jacksonville in November 1990 as an assistant planner and advanced until his appointment to director, according to his LinkedIn profile.