Jacksonville City Council voted unanimously Aug. 12 to appoint Helena Parola as director of the Planning and Development Department.
Parola, a member of the department since 1998, has served in the director role on an interim basis since mid-April. Mayor Donna Deegan nominated her to lead the department June 4.
Council voted 18-0 to approve Parola’s nomination. The vote came on Resolution 2025-0476, with member Tyrona Clark Murray not present.
Council member Rory Diamond called the Planning and Development Department “a mess” and identified it as the top source of calls he receives from dissatisfied constituents. He said he supported Parola for her knowledge of the city and her experience in the local municipal government.
“I really hope she can get in there and build a new staff and get building going again,” he said.
Parola replaces R. Brett James, who resigned April 11 at the request of Deegan’s office. Parola was named interim director days later.
Set to earn an annual salary of $190,550.04, Parola will serve as a liaison to City Council, city departments and commissions, and state and regional agencies.
Parola has spent her career working with the department, starting as assistant planner for historic preservation and later as a planner, senior planner and city planner supervisor.
She was promoted top chief of the community planning division in June 2024.
Parola earned her bachelor’s in philosophy in 1995 and her master’s in urban and regional planning in 1997, both from the University of Florida.
With her confirmation, Parola became the third department director since August 2023, when Bill Killingsworth was hired as the city manager in Atlantic Beach. James was appointed to the director’s position in February 2024.