ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County commissioners approved a contract extension Tuesday for County Administrator Joy Andrews, stretching her employment until 2030 despite pushback from the commission’s chair.

Andrews holds the highest-ranking non-elected position in the county and is in charge of day-to-day operations. 

Commissioner Christian Whitehurst brought up the topic of Andrews’ contract during Tuesday’s commission meeting, saying he wanted her to address her recent application in Palm Beach County for the same position in the interest of “transparency.”

Andrews confirmed she applied for the position in a “moment of weakness,” but said she withdrew her application from consideration days later.

“I made a decision that, you know, regardless of the differences of opinion about me and or my role or how I’m performing from this board, my hope is that I can at least show my commitment to my staff, my children, my community, who have shown up today, that I’m here to stay, however I’m wanted in what role,” Andrews said.

Andrews added that her intention is centered on having stability and completing the work she started.

“What I wanted is to have viability and stability so that we can move past some of the concerns that myself and staff has so that we can get back to work,” she said. “So that we can continue to serve the community, so that we can carry on the initiatives that we worked so hard to start, so that we can see through all of that.”

Whitehurst reiterated Andrews’ wish for stability.

“When there is instability in any large organization, it can have ripple effects that are unintended,” Whitehurst said. “I think it can affect funding that we are getting from Tallahassee and Washington. It can have an effect on staff, it can have an effect on the ability of our county employees to carry out the will of this board.”

Whitehurst originally supported a six-year extension on Andrews’ current contract, which ends in 2027. Commissioner Clay Murphy then suggested a three-year extension, and Whitehurth put forth a formal motion to extend the contract by three years. 

Andrews’ contract extension, however, was met with pushback from Commission Chair Krista Joseph, who in January suggested a vote of no confidence for Andrews.

At the time, Joseph cited issues with the rollout of the county’s new trash hauler, FCC Environmental, and the lack of support for a proposed tree protection ordinance put forth by Joseph. She also acknowledged the commission’s vote to make it harder to oust a county administrator, requiring a 4-1 vote to do so.

The motion ultimately failed, 2-3, with Andrews retaining her job. 

While Joseph said Andrews’ performance had improved, she echoed similar concerns during Tuesday’s meeting, adding she didn’t know if she wanted to reward Andrews before her work is completed.

“I appreciate Joy working as hard as she can, she’s getting better from when I first—what was it in January—that I had a vote of no confidence,” said Joseph. “The problem I have right now is that the things that I said then have not been resolved.”

Joseph continued: “In my opinion, if you get the FCC [Environmental] thing solved, and we have hurricane season coming which is not done yet, you get this comp plan done, you get the tree code done, you get the World Golf thing on the right track, maybe in September, when these things are finished, I’d be all for talking about this, but right now, performance is more important than stability, and stability comes with good performance.”

The motion to extend Andrews’ contract was ultimately approved in a 3-2 vote, with Commissioners Sarah Arnold and Murphy joining Whitehurst in support. Joseph and Commissioner Ann Taylor were the no votes against Andrews’ extension.

The vote came after dozens of community members spoke in favor of Andrews, many of whom were wearing “Joy” stickers. At one point during the meeting, even Whitehurst was seen wearing one.