Tuesday evening, council approved a staff recommendation "that Council authorize the expenditure of $65,000 plus applicable taxes for the recruitment of two Directors (Director of Finance/Treasurer and Director of Public Works)."
The written staff report described the selection process in detail and advised that two submissions were received. However, only one met the minimum score criteria of the first stage.
The report noted, the "scoring criteria [was] made available in the distributed document."
"The merits of the successful proponent, Odgers-Berndston, included extensive experience with municipal sector searches, ... national presence, a success rate of 98 per cent," the report said.
Financial impact
Noting that the HR department is under budget, the report stated, "the extra dollars required for recruitment purposes will not have a negative impact on the overall operating budget of the [HR] department."
It also advised, "The Human Resources operating budget included $35,000 for recruitment in 2024."
Recent position history
The Director of Public Works position has been without a permanent director for a number of years due to tragic circumstances.
The Director of Finance and Treasurer's position appears to have become vacant sometime around the council meeting of July 8. At that meeting, an announcement by Mayor Andrew Wannan, acknowledged the treasurer’s contribution and wished her well.
The announcement left some members of the public in attendance at the meeting, confused. It did not state if it signalled a departure or when it would take place.
Recent executive search results
On May 23, 2023, council approved an executive search for the vacant position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at a cost of "$34,000 plus applicable taxes and disbursements."
Council did not announce the results of the search however, at a special council meeting on December 29, the mayor informed the public that council had appointed an Interim CAO to begin on January 2, 2024.
During the course of 2024, the Interim CAO’s title on agendas, reports, and minutes, has not consistently used the word “interim.”
ElliotLakeToday reached out to staff and council for clarification of the role however, there was no reply by the time of publication.
Previous stories
City to hire recruitment firm to hire next CAO
Council to discuss CAO recruitment in special meeting tomorrow
Council appoints Rob deBortoli as interim CAO Updated