Press Release:  June 7, 2024       

During their June 4, 2024 Meeting, the Levy County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously decided to make the Interim Budget Officer Position permanent.

The BoCC approved a Temporary Budget Officer Position during their April 2, 2024 meeting and entered into a Temporary Work Agreement with Jared Blanton that expires on September 30, 2024. The Temporary Work Agreement tasks Mr. Blanton with developing the BoCC Budget for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2024, and pays him a salary of $87,720, which is comparable with what he was paid to perform this same task when he was employed by the Levy County Clerk of the Court. This salary is commensurate with salaries paid to professionals with similar experience and expertise.

On Friday, May 31, 2024, the honorable Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Craig C. DeThomasis granted the motion to dismiss a civil circuit court action sought by the BoCC requesting that Levy County Clerk Danny J. provide access to the BoCC’s Budget records and assist with the transition of County Budget Officer duties. Judge DeThomasis, noted, “While it is undisputed that the Plaintiff has the statutory right to designate a budget officer other than the Defendant in this case, and further that the Board has designated such an individual other than the Clerk of Court, the facts submitted to this court as pleaded confirm said individual is no longer covered under the software license as he once was when an employee of the Clerk of Court.”

While the court’s dismissal of the motion is related to a software agreement entered into by the Clerk of the Court, the BoCC maintains that this matter is not adversarial and should not have required litigation. The BoCC continues to desire to work through these issues and not create additional staff burdens and costs to the taxpayers of Levy County. The taxpayers deserve and expect effective governance and the Clerk of Court has the opportunity to end this conflict immediately by simply allowing access to the taxpayers’ budget records. The BoCC’s Temporary Budget Officer is currently in the process of developing the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget without cooperation from the Clerk of the Court.

A job description for the permanent Budget Officer position will be created by the Human Resources Department and brought back to the BoCC for approval. The Human Resources Department will initiate the hiring process to fill the Budget Officer position.

For Additional Information:

Mary-Ellen Harper, MPA, EFO, Public Information Officer Levy County Board of County Commission Box 310, Bronson, Florida, 32621 Office: 352.722.2244 Cell: 352.914.7029 Email: PIO@LevyCounty.org

P.O. Box 310 Bronson Florida 32621

Telephone (352) 486-5218 Fax (352) 486-5167

Email: levybocc@levycounty.org, Website: www.levycounty.org

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Posted June 7, 2024