JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- His name is Sean Kelly and he used to be Jacksonville's Division Chief of Current Planning. But not anymore.
"As one council member, I can tell you that for several years I've had a lot of questions and concerns about what is actually going on internally within the planning and development department," said City Councilman John Crescimbeni.
Crescimbeni says about a month and a half ago he, along with Councilwoman Lori Boyer, held a meeting regarding their concerns about the city's planning department, specifically those in charge.
"I would just categorize it as a general concern over the competency level of some of the staff members that we have in some rather high level positions," he said.
Kelly was originally appointed to run Current Planning by Mayor John Peyton. He took over the more than $90,000 a year job in 2008.
According to Crescimbeni, Kelly has been lax in doing key parts of his job, including making sure the public is properly notified when zoning changes happen in their neighborhood.
"When someone in the planning department decides to waive and/or postpone that notice, the public has a difficult time being in the loop about what's going on in their own neighborhood," said Crescimbeni.
A letter Tuesday from Calvin Burney, the director of the Planning and Development Department, informed Kelly of the city's decision to not retain him in his current position. Instead, he's reverting back to his previous job as zoning administrator. It's a more than a $17,000 a year pay cut.
Providing a little foreshadowing, Crescimbeni told Action News on Thursday, he believes this won't be the last time something like this happens.
"I think we have a lot of problems within the planning department, some of them are only starting to bubble up to the surface, I expect more will bubble up to the surface in the next 3-6 months. I anticipate there will be additional shuffling," said Crescimbeni.
The Mayor's Office tells Action News Folks Huxford has been appointed to serve as acting Division Chief of Current Planning. The City says it hopes to fill the position on a permanent basis as soon as possible.
