DIDSBURY – Town councillors have passed two motions related to the recruitment of a new permanent chief executive officer (CAO) for the municipality.
The moves came during the Sept. 10 council meeting, with all councillors and Mayor Rhonda Hunter present.
“I think we have a good vision of what we are looking for in a new CAO,” said Hunter. “We want a CAO who can advise closely and be on top of every legislation that there is.
“He or she needs to be able to motivate the whole crew of town staff and lead them in our continued excellence. That’s what we are after.”
The CAO is the top administrative position in the municipality, overseeing all other staff members.
Interim CAO Tony Martens began work this month following the resignation of past CAO Harold Northcott.
Martens’ interim contract runs until mid-October. He is being paid $1,000 a day in the position.
During last week’s council meeting, councillors discussed whether to proceed with the hiring of the new CAO through an in-house process, where administration and council would oversee the recruitment, or whether a so-called headhunter recruiter would be hired.
Council passed a motion that “council direct administration to proceed with the advertising for a permanent CAO with the intent of hiring the said CAO through an in-house process.”
Councillors then passed a second related motion calling for the formation of a selection committee made up of three councillors and interim CAO Tony Martens and the human resource coordinator to shortlist the candidates for the permanent CAO position.
The three councillors on the committee will be appointed at the Sept. 23 regular council meeting.
The recruitment process will include advertising and interviews with councillors and administration.
Meanwhile, expense spreadsheets for Didsbury mayor Rhonda Hunter and councillors for the first eight months of 2019 were made public at the recent council meeting.
The spreadsheets outline honorarium expenses, general expenses, commission remuneration, and professional development.
An honorarium is paid monthly to elected officials for their participation in council meetings and other duties.
Mayor Hunter’s honorarium to date is $21,032, Coun. J. Baswisk’s is $11,643, Coun. M. Crothers’s is $12,512, Coun. C. Engel’s is $13,814, Coun. D. Moore’s is $11,643, Coun. E. Poggemiller’s is $11,643, and Coun. B. Windsor’s is $11,643.
Expenses are paid to the mayor and councillors for formal meetings outside their normal duties. To date, Hunter’s expenses are $7,239, Baswick’s $4,282, Crorthers’ $3,588, Engel’s $3,548, Moore’s $2,868, Poggemiller’s $4,421, and Windsor’s $6,853.
Hunter’s benefits to date are $1,333, Baswick’s $27, Crothers’ $27, Engel’s $680, Moore’s $27, Poggemiller’s $592, and Windsor’s $789.
Professional development expenses to date are Hunter’s $5,141, Baswick’s $1,457, Engel’s $395, Moore’s $449, Poggemiller’s $1,882, and Windsor's $3,514. Coun. Crothers’ professional development expenses were incorrectly reported on the spreadsheet and will be corrected for the next meeting.
Elsewhere, council passed a motion appointing Deron Reimer as the director of emergency management, and Tony Martens and Craig Fox as assistant directors of emergency management. The move was made in light of the departure of past CAO Harold Northcott, who had served as the town's director of emergency management.
