ECUA | Accountability

But the Public Still Doesn’t Know Why

ECUA board member Lois Benson told the Citizens Advisory Council on Tuesday that Jason Yarborough “was not a good fit for the ECUA.” She also defended the separation agreement that keeps him on paid administrative leave until Feb. 16, 2027.

• Benson read a prepared statement before the council’s open forum, after a council member asked the board to explain. What she offered was a characterization, one example and a plea for grace. She did not say what went wrong in his first three months on the job.

What Benson Said About the Resignation

• The fit. “During the last months and then during the hurricane and its aftermath, it became increasingly apparent” that Yarborough was not a good fit, she said. The board accepted his resignation Friday.
• The pressure. The storm “was a high-pressure situation,” Benson said, but the region experiences hurricanes and navigating them under pressure “is part of the job.”
• The one example. A “very poorly written press release” went out under ECUA letterhead and seemed to imply the boil water advisory had been lifted for ECUA water customers except in certain locations. That was not the case, she said. The post came off ECUA’s Facebook page several hours later, “but only after it was shared by another outlet.”
• The limits on her. She said the agreement’s mutual non-disparagement clause forces her to be “very cautious” to avoid litigation, so she would not go beyond that single example.

“Being a bad fit is not a capital offense.”

The Defense of the Deal

Who negotiated it. Benson said ECUA’s attorneys, “who are quite good at what they do,” negotiated the separation agreement and always look out for ECUA and its customers. She said they did not negotiate “in a vacuum” but within the employment agreement both sides signed when he was hired.

• What he did not get. Yarborough “was not awarded the full severance contemplated in the employment package,” Benson said. She did not say what the full severance would have been or how much the agreement saved ratepayers.

The human element. Benson noted the board hired Yarborough on a unanimous vote, that he left his previous job for what she called his “career capping dream job,” and that he moved his family to the town where he grew up. “We are not a vindictive organization,” she said, adding that a harsh exit could discourage future applicants and cost ECUA more than the settlement terms.

• The Robinson aside. Benson also brought up news from the day before that former Escambia County Commissioner and Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson was escorted from his office on the Pensacola State College campus by police after a change in political leadership. She called it “an unnecessary and appalling indignity” and said ECUA handles such matters “with dignity.”

What the Numbers Say

Benson’s tone was sympathetic. The agreement’s terms are what ratepayers are funding:

• Paid leave from Oct. 16 through Feb. 16, 2027, at $4,326.92 a week, roughly $75,000 in salary.
• A lump-sum payout of about $23,800 for accrued vacation and sick leave on Feb. 26, 2027, bringing the cash to nearly $100,000.
• Employer-paid family medical, dental and vision, plus life insurance, retirement participation and deferred compensation contributions through Feb. 16.
• Paragraph 7 lets him take outside employment during the leave period without reducing any of it.

Yarborough started July 6 and worked 102 days. He will be paid for 123 more.

What Happens Next

Benson said the board will “cast a wide net” for a new executive director. Former executive director Bruce Woody has agreed to serve as acting director during the transition.

Read my earlier post: ECUA’s Jason Yarborough Gets Four Months of Pay After Barely Three Months on the Job.