Okaloosa County BOCC — January 21, 2014 — Action Item Printout

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: January 21, 2014 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Kay Godwin SUBJECT: County Attorney Recruitment Update DEPARTMENT: Human Resources BCC DISTRICT: STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Update on the status of County Attorney recruitment and request Board direction on screening process. BACKGROUND: Anticipating the retirement of County Attorney John Dowd on July 1, 2014, the county has been accepting employment applications for County Attorney since August 15, 2013. Further, letters of interest were accepted from law firms through December 6, 2013 to provide County Attorney services through a contractual approach. On October 15, 2013, the Board appointed a screening committee to review applications and proposals from firms. Screening committee members: County Commissioner Nathan Boyles, County Administrator Ernie Padgett, Human Resources Director Kay Godwin and Okaloosa Bar Association President and local attorney Brad Stewart, first met on December 13, 2013. A total of 26 apparently qualified employment applications were provided to the screening committee for review. In addition, the screening committee was provided with letters of interest and proposals from three responsive firms. On January 10, 2014, members of the screening committee met and identified their top ten applicants. OPTIONS: The screening committee is willing to conduct telephone interviews and identify a short list of applicants for consideration by the Board. RECOMMENDATIONS: Provide direction as desired. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator