(ESCAMBIA COUNTY) --- It's policy that if an Escambia County employee at the A level retires, they get $20K.
It's a fact that Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger confirmed to OpGov.News regarding her aide, Melanie Luna, receiving that amount upon her recent May resignation.
OpGov.News reached out to Hofberger upon receiving the information, which was immediately confirmed.
“I will say I am not wild about the policy; it seems excessive, and I would be for reducing the 90 days,” Hofberger said Wednesday morning. “I just did not know it was policy until now.”
(Photo: Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger's Facebook page with her and former aide Melanie Luna)
Hofberger said the policy has been in place since 1994 through phone message, text and email.
"I am so happy you reached out," Hofberger said in a voicemail. "So when someone at the A level hands in their resignation, there is a 90-day period on that."
Hofberger noted Luna "followed county policy," and " I will ask our HR department for that policy and send you a copy of that. "
Hofberger confirmed in an email that the policy is being forwarded to OpGov.News for publication.
(Photo: Email correspondence with Escambia County Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger)
Luna’s resignation, without a noted severance package, itself sparked controversy amid rumors that Luna was involved in hiring Christal Bell-Rivera as the new director of the West Florida Public Library system. A rumor that Hofberger denies, noting that it was not the reason her aide left.
However, Luna is not the only one who got $20K for leaving Escambia County. Hofberger confirmed in the above email that the same policy was given for the recent resignation of Commissioner Lumon May’s aide, which OpGov.News is in the process of confirming with an email out to May.
According to Hofberger’s email, “it’s the same policy that was followed previously this year when Commissioner May’s aide resigned after she accidentally signed Commissioner May's name to a petition to lower rates from FPL.”
OpGov.News will report the policy information upon receipt from Hofberger, as well as May’s response to the email inquiry. Additionally, OpGov.News is confirming that in May, his assistant/aide resigned due to signing his name to a petition.
(Photo: Email to Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May)
Since the initial publication of this report, Hofberger forwarded a copy of the policy permitting the noted severance package.
(Photo: Escambia County Human Resources Policy confirming the severance package stated by Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger)
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