The city is losing another senior administrator as chief financial officer Dean Screpnek is leaving next month for a job with the City of Edmonton.
Screpnek, 42, has been with the City of St. Albert since June 2007.
"I would see him as one of the real bright lights in terms of chief financial officers across the province. He leaves a huge gap behind with his departure," said city manager Bill Holtby.
As chief financial officer, Screpnek has overseen all aspects of the city's finances. He's a consummate professional with a fantastic conceptual approach to finance that included the ability to minimize taxes while tapping into various available grants, Holtby said.
"He's garnered the respect of the city councils that he's worked with in a very short period of time," Holtby said. "Some of the policy work he's done for the city has just been leading edge."
Holtby credited Screpnek for taking a creative approach to the city's investments.
"Instead of going to GICs or something with our investments, he put the investments out for tender," Holtby said. "We've got quite a creative investment portfolio that we manage and we're bringing in [about] one per cent more than we were previously."
In addition to being the city's chief financial officer, Screpnek has been the general manager of corporate services, which had him overseeing the human resources, IT, finance, assessment and legal departments.
"It's going to be a challenging position to fill because of the dual responsibilities," Holtby said.
Creative accounting
As one of his proudest accomplishments, Screpnek listed the city's fiscal sustainability framework, which was developed under his guidance shortly after his arrival in 2007. At the time of its release in 2008, Screpnek called it a first of its kind for western Canada.
The framework was designed to guide the city's actions in paying for growth and development in the annexed lands. It also included policies around debt and property taxation.
Under Screpnek's recommendation, the city adopted a policy of investing 15 per cent of its share of the provincial Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grants for growth infrastructure — roads, buildings and utilities — for the annexed lands.
Screpnek's last day with the city will be Sept. 2. On Sept. 6, he'll begin his new job as branch manager of corporate accounting and treasury for the City of Edmonton. Though it's a job with a narrower focus on finance, it involves much greater stakes, as Edmonton's budget is $1.7 billion to St. Albert's $135 million.
"I've got a pretty strong desire to be a really seasoned finance professional in the public sector," Screpnek said. "This is a progression along that path."
Prior to joining the City of St. Albert, the certified management accountant spent a decade with Parkland County. The Spruce Grove resident said his experience in St. Albert exposed him to urban issues like transit, recreation and culture. He also values the experience he gained from working under a talented city manager in Holtby, he said.
Screpnek is the third of the city's four general managers to leave this year. The city has also replaced its communications director.
It will likely take a couple of months to have a replacement in place, Holtby said. In the meantime, finance director Gene Peskens will fill in.
