Problem with Florence City Boards...in Its Own Words

 

Florence has a new slogan: Want to make a difference? Come be a board member and be the bane of Martha Murphy's existence!

It seems there's been a royal mix-up about new city board appointments this year. The final word as we understand it now is that these appointments will be announced in February.

However, the cause of the problem seems to have been, at least in part, just general apathy. From the desk of the city administrator Martha Jo Murphy:

“Yes, you can submit applications any time. They are available on line or I can email you a form. However, the Council usually reappoints someone if they want to be reappointed rather than replacing someone who wants to be reappointed. If there is a vacancy and no applications are on file, sometimes they reappoint even if they have already served two terms.
You are correct about openings should be posted 90 days, however, I was out of town the first meeting in October when they should have been posted, and my fill-in did not know to post them. I did not realize they were not posted, so it was my mistake that they did not get posted until the second meeting in November. That is why we are leaving the posting up until the last meeting in February. We have so many different boards with varying term limits, years of the term, and expiration dates, it is confusing (I call the boards the bane of my existence). Not trying to make an excuse for my negligence, just trying to explain the way it is. Usually, we have so little interest in the boards, I guess we have gotten into the habit of not making sure the guidelines are followed."

Well, God forbid the boards be the bane of the city admin's existence. It seems if you wish to point out the malfeasance or erratic behavior of any board member, you have until February.