by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Mayor-elect John Peyton’s transition and steering committee will name 100 members to its 13 subcommittees today. Peyton spokesperson Susan Wiles said the seven-member committees will represent both the private and public sectors as they evaluate department performance under the previous administration.
The subcommittees will move beyond the big picture, conceptual thinking of ongoing “White Paper” meetings to recommend specific structural and personnel changes to 10 executive departments, the library system, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission and the Jacksonville Children’s Commission.
The transition committee sought to include senior public employees from each department on the subcommittees, which will also include private citizens with business and enterprise experience.
“You will see how the steering committee, when it comes to rehiring and other government functions, wants to bring the best business practices to government,” said Wiles.
Wiles said the steering committee expects the public personnel to give an inside perspective of their department’s operation while private sector members search for ways to streamline department structure in an effort to “provide better service at a better price.”
The subcommittees will not include members of the current staff, including department heads and division chiefs who submitted their letters of resignation at Peyton’s request.
Wiles said the incoming administration would likely approve any incumbent department head’s request to interview for the job. However, she said their presence on the subcommittees could be perceived to tilt the playing field against other applicants.
“Some of them have done a good job, but it’s still a good idea to see what other qualified people are out there that could serve the mayor-elect,” said Wiles.
After reviewing resumes from department head and division chief applicants, the subcommittees will make recommendations to the transition and steering committee, which has the latitude to further pare down the list before presenting the final candidates to Peyton. The mayor-elect will make the hires pending City Council approval.
Wiles expects those positions to be filled by fall, with the first hires coming before Peyton’s July 1 inauguration. She said members of the incumbent mayor’s staff would “by and large” be replaced.
Although denied subcommittee positions, incumbent department heads have helped the transition team’s “White Paper” committees compose briefs, which outline broad departmental concepts to be considered by the incoming administration.
For instance, at a May 28 meeting, Parks and Recreation head Debra Igou introduced the new JAX Parks Management System as a means to evaluate park conditions and safety.