St. Albert’s deputy chief administrative officer (CAO) will step in as interim CAO while the city searches for its next manager, council heard Monday.
Kerry Hilts will step into the interim position on Jan. 1. Former CAO Kevin Scoble announced his resignation on Nov. 25 after heading the city for four years, inciting surprise from city councillors and some members of administration. In the new year, Scoble will begin work as chief administrative officer for the Town of Strathmore.
Hilts originally started working for St. Albert as deputy chief administrative officer in 2019, after serving briefly as interim CAO for the City of Beaumont.
During the Dec. 20 council meeting, Mayor Cathy Heron welcomed Hilts, thanking him for accepting the position.
“You're the best choice for the job, and we're really happy to have you getting us through the next couple of months,” Heron said.
Heron and other councillors wished Scoble well at his new position in Strathmore, thanking him for his leadership throughout the pandemic and earlier.
“Financially, we’re not nearly in a situation that most other municipalities would be facing had you not recognized what needed to be done and then taken that appropriate action,” Coun. Sheena Hughes said.
Elected this past fall, Coun. Mike Killick noted he has only served council for a short period of time but said he has seen Scoble’s accomplishments reflected in the professionalism shown by city staff during the orientation process.
“When people move on, we often think we're losing something,” Killick said. “What my experience has been is you've left behind something very valuable here.”
Council met in camera later in the council meeting to discuss CAO recruitment.
In an email sent out Tuesday afternoon, city spokesperson Cory Sinclair said St. Albert has finalized its process for its CAO search. The city has already collected bids from a sample of its prequalified search firms and has awarded the contract to the highest-scored bidder, who will work with council on the recruitment, Sinclair relayed.
"More details will be available on the city’s website when the opportunity profile is complete and advertised," Sinclair said in the email.
During the same meeting, council passed its 2022 budget, which includes a suite of service cuts. One of these cuts eliminates the $60,000 budget the city uses to enlist firms while searching for leadership positions, including the chief administrative officer.
Removing this budget will “reduce St. Albert’s overall standard for recruitment,” the 2022 draft budget document said.
Sinclair relayed that while these services are now an unbudgeted expense, it "doesn't stop council or [the] executive from still using an executive search firm in limited cases (for example, the CAO)."
"The expense for those services will be funded against any surplus in a fiscal year or come from a funding source identified by council," Sinclair relayed in the email.
Sinclair said prior to allotting a budget for search firms in 2018, the city would identify the funding source on a one-time basis.
