JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At a time when the city of Jacksonville is laying off employees and the state is looking for more money to surface, one agency is giving extra money to some select employees.
Duval County Clerk of Courts Jim Fuller will be leaving office at the end of the year because of term limits, but it appears his is rewarding 35 of his top employees as he head for the door.
A memo obtained by Channel 4 on Friday from Fuller to the head of human resources says his office will issue a one-time lump-sum compensation for those willing to go above and beyond their duties. The memo listed 35 appointed staff members and the amount of extra compensation they will receive, ranging from $219 to $8,000.
Fuller told Channel 4's Jim Piggott over the phone Friday morning that he was not aware of the list and would later respond to it when he learned of it. He had not responded by the end of the day.
Channel 4 later obtained the list from a source, and it had Fuller's name on it.
Fuller's staff says the payments are not bonuses but pay for work that will be done in the upcoming months.
There are more than 300 employees in the clerk's office. Several said they were upset and wondering why appointed staff are getting bonuses and not them.
Other non-clerk employees also weighed in.
"I think all the employees go above and beyond, so how do they pull out 35? I am not sure," one city employee said.
"I don't think it's right," city employee Sheilonda Qualles said. "I don't think it's right for a person to get $8,000 for going above and beyond in their job and they are doing something they are suppose to be doing."