BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Earlier this month, nearly two hundred employees of the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department were given layoff notices. The reason for the mass layoffs was due to budget cuts.

County deputies abolished several jobs and restructured the organizational charts requiring less employees. The employees were then required to reapply for their positions, with most not being hired. They were told their last day of work would be September 24th.

Harold Jackson, a 33-year employee, had been a Recreation Area Supervisor for 25 years. He did not receive a position.

Jackson said, “I had gone into the office, said my good-byes and left the office. Later that day, I received a call from my supervisor telling me that I had been extended for a week, until September 30th.”

On Wednesday, September 28th, Jackson said he was contacted and told to attend a meeting at 8 a.m., on Thursday. Jackson said County Administrator Mike Merrill; Helene Marks, Chief Administrative Officer; Sharon Subadan, Deputy County Director; Mark Thornton, Director of Parks, Recreation, & Conservation; Human Relations representatives; and a County Attorney attended the meeting.

Jackson said that during the meeting, the employees learned that all of the job offers had been rescinded during the County’s review.

The positions were then offered based on the results of the interview process, with longevity, job performance, qualifications, and other requirements. In the end, he said, a smaller number of people were displaced and Mike Merrill committed himself to find them employment somewhere in County Government. [private]

“Some people were bumped, some were moved around, some will receive less pay, some reassigned, but he vowed to find jobs for them. People were going to be hurt either way, but now it’s a smaller number of people affected. The people stood up for what they believed in and the Administrators did the best they could, all things considered. They (Administrators) righted the ship, and corrected the process,” Jackson said.

He further stated that he has been offered a supervisory position and was given 24 hours to decide.

Jackson, a Tampa native, graduated from Tampa Catholic High School. He earned a B. S. Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Tampa.

After graduation in 1978, Jackson was unsure of his next move, so he obtained employment with the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. [/private]