Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter-News Analyst
Three hours into its June 4, 2013 meeting, the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) tackled the issue of the City Clerk vacancy. City Attorney Tammi Bach was the first to speak, informing commissioners and the public that Jennifer Gooding, the FBCC’s choice for City Clerk, had rejected the city’s contract offer and withdrawn from consideration for the position. She said, “We have an open position, we do not have an applicant for the position, and we do not have a City Clerk Pro Tem.” After a brief pause, Mayor Sarah Pelican recognized Vice Mayor Charlie Corbett, who said, “Let’s just cut to the chase. I’d like to make a motion that we appoint Kim Briley as City Clerk Pro Tem with all the duties that come under that. She’ll also be responsible to the City Commission.” After determining that her salary would remain at the adjusted 6% bump, Commissioner Ed Boner seconded the motion. City Manager Joe Gerrity pointed out that Briley would retain her status as a city exempt employee. “While the City Commission can supervise and discipline her, it cannot fire her. Is that correct, City Attorney?” Bach concurred.
Commissioner Gass chuckled and said, “You know we’re not going to fill this job for $45,000, right? With a Masters degree?”
Mayor Pelican responded that the clerk’s duties are laid out under the City Charter. “After last Thursday’s what I would call a disastrous meeting, it proves there is work to be done where we ‘re all concerned regarding coming up with what we see a city clerk should be.” She cited the salary range and the requirements, opining that it would be a “hard sell as a prestigious job” with those conditions. “What we need to do is to come together as a body to decide what the contract should be so we don’t go through again what we did last Thursday [referencing the special meeting in which the FBCC discussed contract and concerns with Jennifer Gooding, their choice for City Clerk at that time.]. (View Mayor Pelican’s comments on You Tube)
Commissioner Ed Boner suggested that the city look internally before looking outside to fill charter officer positions. Mayor Pelican responded saying, “That’s kind of what we did. And quite frankly, I was a little bit distressed to find out that after you sat up here two meetings in a row, you said that you would go and talk with Miss Gooding. But you never did, did you? How could you get a feel for who she was as a candidate if you weren’t willing to speak with her informally?” (View exchange on You Tube.)
Boner replied saying, “I think the objection I had was that I wanted to look inside the Clerk’s Office first [emphasis added] to see if any of the folks who worked there were interested. But they probably weren’t. And I don’t know why.” Pelican and Boner continued a polite dialog over the merits of various approaches. Boner emphasized that by selecting Gooding, a move he had opposed, the city was not achieving any savings through the end of the year.
Gass tried to recap the Mayor’s charge to the commissioners, asking if she wanted the FBCC to come up with a contract before they selected the permanent clerk. Pelican said that she thought they had to do that to avoid future problems. Boner suggested that the city’s Human Resources Department could assist in determining a more appropriate salary range and qualifications. Gass said, “See, I don’t want a range. Every time I applied for a job I knew exactly what the salary was before I ever told them I was interested in doing it. I don’t see why we can’t do that in this position.” In response to a question from Gass, Attorney Bach said there was no legal reason why that could not be done.
Commissioner Arlene Filkoff opined, “It is extremely important that this commission define the charter officer positions and make the job requirements abundantly clear so the people holding the positions know what we are measuring them on. … We talk about a salary range primarily because we are talking about the degree of experience applicants bring to the job. I definitely think that having such a workshop before we recruit again is crucial.” Filkoff reminded commissioners that the next budget process is just getting underway and that since the city clerk problem appears to have been solved temporarily, she would prefer that not be a distraction at this time. Pelican agreed, saying that the commission was getting into murky waters and did not need to be distracted by the weeds.
Gerrity said that the commission needs to make better use of the tools it has, such as workshops. He said, “We need to start to hash things out before we come to second reading of an ordinance or a hiring decision. I will keep that in mind going forward. I was hesitant to get involved in the city clerk decision because that’s your job. But we can offer some forums to help facilitate the process.” Mayor Pelican thanked him for his input. Gass suggested a more informal setting for workshops, such as sitting at tables facing each other, instead of sitting in place at the commissioner’s bench. Gerrity agreed to work on that.
Bach agreed to provide commissioners with the city clerk job description and the advertised qualifications.
After the commission voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Kim Briley as Clerk Pro Tem, Bach informed the FBCC that while the action is effective immediately, she will bring to the June 18 FBCC meeting a resolution formalizing the action.
As Deputy Clerk, Briley staffed the June 4 meeting and was in attendance for the discussion surrounding the clerk position. At the conclusion of the discussion, no one acknowledged Briley in any way, but merely moved on to the next item of business.
Kim Elliott Briley was hired by then city clerk Mary Mercer as a Deputy City Clerk on August 6, 2001. She worked in the Clerk’s Office until December 2003, at which time she transferred to the City Manager’s Office as the Assistant to the City Manager. In July 2012, she I transferred back to the Clerk’s Office as Deputy City Clerk. Prior to entering employment with the city, she served as a Deputy Clerk for the Nassau County Clerk of Courts (from 9/1991 – 8/2001) and was assigned to the Honorable Robert E. Williams, Nassau County Court Judge.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.
June 5, 2013 5:12 p.m.
The Tea Party clown car of city government is rolling on.