Century considers hiring city manager

The Century Town Council planned a special meeting for 6 p.m. this Thursday, Nov. 9, following a presentation by the owner of a municipal consulting company who responded to the town's request for proposals (RFPs) for a possible interim town manager last September at the council meeting Tuesday night.

Howard Brown, Jr., owner and president of Local Government Consulting Group out of West Palm Beach, Fla., originally from Pensacola, has worked as a city manager in California, Oklahoma and Florida and is a nationally certified urban planner who has worked in community planning and development in both Florida and Georgia.

Brown said he submitted an RFP when Century wanted to hire an interim town manager several months ago but he did not hear anything so he decided to reach out to the town.

Brown's group offers many services involved in managing and consulting in all levels of government, including city and county consulting services, planning and community development, economic development and project and construction management services.

"There are cities just like you all over the state that are in some form of issue," said Brown. "Century is a town that I know about. When I saw this advertisement on the Florida League of Cities website looking for an interim city manager, it popped on my radar because I know where Century is."

Brown said he has worked with cities that have had issues like Century, so he hopes to have an opportunity to help the town. Brown said he saw management and staffing issues, but he was impressed that the town is taking initiative to solve infrastructure problems that plague small towns across the state.

"I'm not sure what the next step will be, but I have time right now to provide great consulting services for you all," said Brown. "But that clock is ticking."

Brown assured the council they are doing exactly what other cities are doing to improve and offered his services to help Century reached its goals.

Councilwoman Shelisa McCall asked Brown if he or someone else from his firm would actually be Century's city manager.

"It would be me," said Brown. "Because I am interested in Century. But I would want to be put on a very short timeline to get this going."

Brown suggested that publishing council meetings on the website, especially since it is a multi-million dollar operation utilizing proprietary funds and emphasized how important it is to have a finance director to become totally transparent, which is a goal of both the council and mayor.

Brown said initially, he would be in Century three times a week to be fully involved, and as the town progresses, he would eventually become less involved.

Brown said he had seen two of the town's recent audits and made some suggestions, including a strategic action plan, a long-range plan and how to get on top of the town's financial issues to get to a solution.

"Every two weeks, you post those (financial) reports online so everybody in America can see them," said Brown. "It will be helpful to you. You've got to have people who can do this work. You need people who have governmental experience."

The town has budgeted $52,000 for a part-time city manager. Brown stated his monthly compensation at $7,500 a month. Brown stated he has grandchildren in Escambia County, Fla., and he is particularly interested in helping the town.

Interim Mayor Luis Gomez suggested a special meeting to vote on hiring Brown and was adamant that sooner is better than later in his opinion.

"Time is of essence," said Gomez. "The importance of our getting someone, if not Mr. Brown, in place to help with the current issues we have to help us move forward in Century. That's why I wanted it before the council. The council has all of the power and the purse strings. It's how important you think it is for us to bring somebody in to assist us. I know what we budgeted is one thing, but there're also different avenues to get what we need."

Gomez said that the issue had to be on the agenda of a publicly-advertised meeting to be voted on. Town Clerk Leslie Howington researched and determined that for special meetings, the town is required to post publicly at least 24, preferably 72, hours prior to the meeting. The notice is posted at town hall, on the town's website and on Page 5 inside the Nov. 9 edition of the Tri City Ledger.

The special meeting will be at 6 p.m., Thursday (today), Nov. 9, at Century Town Hall. The public is invited.

In other business, the council:

-Approved a $1,000 donation to the Alger Sullivan Historical Society, who provided receipts for money ASHS has spent.

-Tabled approving the installation of new lobby window and drive-thru and flooring for the offices, hallway restrooms and kitchen at town hall until numerous quotes are received, to be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

-Approved a transfer of $8.498.83 from Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) to the water fund for the town's bi-annual State Revolving Funds payment, leaving an L.O.S.T. balance of $988,794.41.

-Scheduled a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 12, at town hall, the first since the last meeting on August 15, 2023.