by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
John Peyton wants you.
That’s right. In an effort to help fill the 60-plus vacancies that could be potentially created as he fills his appointed staff, Mayor-elect Peyton is seeking resumes from every walk of life.
Today, the City’s website — www.coj.net — will start listing every appointed position open within the Peyton administration. To find out if you may qualify for consideration, log onto the site, click on “jobs” and then click on to “open positions.”
“We are trying to attract applicants in the traditional and non-traditional way,” said Peyton spokesperson Susie Wiles. “In the non-traditional way we are taking advantage of technology. Also, the construction of our subcommittees was arrived at through their networks. We are paying close attention to those networks and reaching out to all segments of the community. Every person on the subcommittees has a different network than the others.”
All of these spokes extending across Jacksonville and the entire First Coast doesn’t mean there will be a whole new cast of characters in City Hall come July 1. Wiles admitted a handful of resignations will be accepted and some of those positions will be filled by the end of the month. However, many others — including mayor’s office positions — won’t be filled by July 1 and Wiles said Peyton, along with the subcommittees, the 15-member Transition Steering Committee and his Executive Steering Committee, will thoroughly, but quickly, evaluate current personnel and qualified applicants.
That should come as good news to dozens of employees appointed by Mayor John Delaney whose futures are in limbo. Tuesday, each received a letter from Peyton and the Executive Steering Committee explaining their current status, how the next few weeks will pan out and what to expect as July 1 draws nearer.
“In the letter, we are explaining the process,” said Wiles. “We informed them we have named a chair of each subcommittee, we have populated the subs and they have been assigned a City department. The subcommittees [there are 13 with 96 members] are working concurrently and will produce an overview of where the City employee stands.”
Wiles said many of the department heads will be asked to stay on past June 30 for one simple reason.
“No department will be leaderless,” she said, adding that Peyton intends to assure that current department heads are given every chance to retain their jobs, if they have expressed such a desire. “This will be a fair, up front, forthright process. Mayor-elect Peyton’s goal is to be up front with everyone.”
With seven or eight members each, the subcommittees appear to have a difficult job, especially considering they will be asked to evaluate many resumes, compare them to the incumbent and reach a general agreement on one or two names to submit for further consideration — all in a relatively short time.
Wiles believes the subcommittees will be able to pore through the applicants quickly and easily separate those qualified for the job from those who aren’t. The recommendations from the subcommittees to the Transition Steering Committee don’t have to be unanimous, but Wiles believes more often than not all of the members will agree that one or two — or even more — candidates should make it to the next round.
“We have every hope a consensus can be reached,” said Wiles. “In these processes, answers become clear. Invariably, one or two people will rise above the others and their names will be sent to the mayor.”
Wiles said the subcommittees are not bound by time constraints, but have been directed to perform their task in an efficient manner. Ultimately, according to Wiles, every personnel decision is Peyton’s.
“There are no hard and fast deadlines. Certainly, the mayor-elect will take extra time to find the best person,” said Wiles. “The fact is, there will be a few new faces [in City Hall] July 1, but not wholesale changes. Current employees are competing just as the people on the outside. But the angst is real. But it will not be like there is cast one on Friday and Monday there’s cast two.
“It’s his [Peyton’s] management team and he wants to feel as comfortable as any corporate CEO would.”