Almost a year after the position became vacant, St. Johns County remains without senior legal counsel.
David Migut left the role of county attorney in March 2024, and according to human resources, the continued search for a replacement is coming up short.
After two and a half years, he left to become the city attorney of Jacksonville Beach. His county salary was $216,330.
Desiree Woroner, the county’s human resources director, told the Board of County Commissioners that a hiring committee reviewing candidates was not impressed.
The committee met Jan. 23.
“We did a deep dive and felt that the pool wasn’t quite what we wanted, so we did go back to advertise for another 30 days. We refreshed the introduction of the advertisement to give a more favorable light on the county as well as talk about the supervisory structure the position would hold,” Woroner told the commission. “We also added three additional advertisement locations.”
Those locations, she said, include X, formerly known as Twitter, an executive search firm’s job board and CareersInGovernment.com.
According to the job advertisement:
“The St. Johns County Attorney’s Office is responsible for providing legal services and issuing legal opinions for the Board of County Commissioners, the County Administration Office and other county staff. The newly appointed county attorney will be responsible for the supervision of the office staff, which includes five attorneys and three legal support staff.
“In addition to day-to-day staff supervision, the newly appointed county attorney also provides professional legal work of a sometimes complex and responsible nature for St. Johns County. Assigned work is performed with limited independence within the framework of established policies and requires considerable responsibility, initiative and judgment.”
The job description describes St. Johns as “a coastal paradise abounding in lush greenery, beautiful beaches, a booming economy, a deeply rich history, and a family-friendly environment.”
The position requires 10 years’ experience in local government, including experience in county and state land use law, water and sewer utilities, employment law, risk management, environmental and conservation law, procurement, child welfare law, and Florida Sunshine Law.
Seven years of supervisory experience is also required.
Commission Chair Krista Joseph questioned the position’s salary. She said she understood the county was initially prepared to pay $140,000 for its chief legal advisor.
“We have a part-time guy making more than that,” she said.
Woroner said the salary has been increased.
According to Indeed.com, the maximum compensation is $216,000 annually. The site requires an advertised range, she said. All other listings say the salary is “negotiable.”
“Good,” Joseph said.
Woroner said efforts to make the position more attractive to candidates have yielded only two but more qualified candidates.
“We feel the outreach was positive,” she said. “Although we didn’t have a lot, the quality of the candidates is improved.”
Advertising for the county attorney role is expected to close Feb. 21, Woroner told the commission.
“After that, we will again meet to review the candidates on Feb. 27, with interviews to start on March 5 and conclude for your consideration on March 18.”
No action was required of the commission.