This week, city council will decide whether or not to approve Mayor Robinson’s selection of Amy Lovoy as the city’s finance director. Lovoy came to the city last year after a long tenure with Escambia County, where Robinson served as a county commissioner. Lovoy long served as the county’s budget director until filling in as interim county administrator following the departure of Jack Brown.
While Lovoy was at the helm, Escambia County essentially spiraled into meltdown mode, as the state investigated its Emergency Medical Services department and a number of administration officials jumped ship. On Monday, the mayor was asked if he felt comfortable bringing on Lovoy — who left the county during peak meltdown mode — after her experience at the county.
“I’m incredibly comfortable with Amy Lovoy handling the department of finances,†Mayor Robinson said. “She did that at the county and it ran very smoothly.â€
The mayor went on to say that Lovoy was geared more towards finance than administrative duties, but that he also felt issues at the county ran deeper and longer than one short-term interim administrator could be blamed for.
“I don’t think that was all Amy’s fault, I think there were a variety of other things that were happening there,†Robinson said. “Amy’s left and she’s been gone for nearly a year and those things are still challenging there. But, I don’t think — this isn’t all Amy Lovoy that created that there.â€
The mayor also said that as Lovoy takes over the finance department, the city intends to take the IT department out from under its purview. Following the recent ransomware cyber attack on the city, IT will likely be separated into its own department.
“I think that’s already beginning to change,†Robinson said. “I think you’ll see IT coming out on its own. I think Amy’s the first one that’s supportive of that.â€