The vacant Westlock County CAO position will be advertised this week, roughly two months after the former CAO left his post.
At their June 24 meeting, county councillors passed two motions relating to the search — the first repealed a previous motion to negotiate a contract with the firm Pekarski Stein. The second, made after an in-camera session, was to engage the services of James R. Craven & Associates.
“We had passed a motion to engage Rick Vogel from Pekarsky Stein for recruiting a CAO,” reeve Bud Massey said. “We attempted to negotiate a contract and were dissatisfied with the result of that attempted negotiation.”
Coun. Jim Wiese elaborated further, saying the issue came down to getting a fixed cost.
“Council will not enter into open-ended contracts where we have no control over the costs. That’s the reason.”
The previous motion was rescinded unanimously, and there was no further discussion during the public portion of the meeting.
After the meeting, Massey explained that while the costs suggested during negotiations weren’t necessarily excessive, it came down to the council wanting a fixed price — which Pekarsky Stein was apparently unwilling to provide.
“They demonstrated a lack of flexibility in those negotiations and they wanted an open-ended contract, where there wasn’t going to be a control on the cost,” Massey said.
Craven, on the other hand, was able to commit to a fixed price, and one that was significantly lower.
“Mr. Craven and associates have committed to doing the job for less than half the money,” Massey said.
He added while he is concerned about the delay in getting the job posted, it’s by no means his biggest concern.
“The concern is less about the cost and more about the stability of having the person operating as our administrator,” he said. “It’s much more important we get the right person.”
Massey expects the job will be posted online this week.
Negotiations between the county and former CAO Edward LeBlanc, who left the municipality at the end of April, regarding how much severance pay he’ll receive are nearly finished and the amount will be made public.
“There’s been a number that’s finalized, but the agreement isn’t signed,” he said. “As soon as we have a finalized agreement I’d be most pleased to share it.”
As for why it’s appropriate to pay out severance in the case of a mutual parting of ways — as both LeBlanc and Massey have said was the case — Massey said it’s about recognizing LeBlanc’s 29 years as county employee.
“There was a written contract with Mr. LeBlanc that had a (severance) figure that’s substantially higher than what we agreed,” he said. “If he had quit, he would not be entitled to it. If we had fired him, he would have been entitled to much more. It was a compromise, acceptance and recognition of the long-term service he had given to Westlock County.”
