The Town of La Ronge has been without an CAO since August 2018. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Search for CAO

Third-party management company hired by La Ronge council as CAO search continues

Nov 12, 2019 | 5:09 PM

Unable to recruit a chief administrative officer themselves for the past 15 months, the Town of La Ronge council has hired a company for an estimated $120,000 to recruit an employee for the role and more.

Back in October, HMC Management Inc. was retained by council to assist in their recruitment of a new CAO, as well as review current town operations, policies and structure in creating a positive and professional environment for the new CAO upon their arrival. According to a news release issued by town administration Nov. 12, council acknowledges that during the first three years of its term, there have been some difficulties in how they would like the CAO position to function within their organizational culture and structure.

“It’s a nice way of saying we’ve had trouble right from the start,” La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich said. “The truth is if you look at the town’s operations for a long time now, well even before this council came, they were behind on a lot of things. When we came in three years ago, there was a staffing problem already and its been exasperated by some other changes that occurred.”

Woytowich estimates the cost of the review and hiring of a CAO could cost nearly $120,000. He stated with $80,000 saved by not having a deputy-CAO, along with policies which will be completed already budgeted for, the costs equal out to about the same.

“We’re finally at that point where we acknowledge we need help in doing this and, in order to properly hire someone and to advertise a position, we need to have everything in order,” Woytowich said.

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La Ronge has been without a CAO since Stephen Conway resigned from the position on Aug. 31, 2018. In a letter of resignation sent to council, he alleged unprofessional conduct in the way of extreme racism and homophobia by some councillors pushed him to quit his job. larongeNOW last heard from Conway about one year ago when he stated in an email he was cooperating with investigations by the RCMP and Saskatchewan Ombudsman.

Conway noted a complaint made with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission failed because a decision was rendered that he was not a directly related party to the alleged racist comments.

Acting-Staff Sgt. Josh Hallett confirmed with larongeNOW the matter was investigated by an RCMP officer with the detachment, but there was insufficient evidence to proceed with criminal charges. The investigation has since been concluded.

Dean Yaremchuk, a representative with HMC Management Inc., stated hiring a CAO is the company’s primary function. He said until they are able to find someone for the role, he has already begun working to gain an understanding of the current operation and the staff that work within it.

“What we want to do is make an objective third-party look,” Yaremchuk said. “We’ve worked with many municipalities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and we have the benefit of knowing what the successful practices are and, in some cases, modernization of policy may need to occur in order for council to meet its obligations.”

With council having already advertised the position on multiple occasions, Yaremchuk added there are other avenues in finding an employee like recruiting through their internal database.

In March, larongeNOW interviewed Ed Sigmeth, the chairperson of the Urban Board of Examiners in Saskatchewan, who said legally the town has to have a CAO in place who is certified or qualified. He stated not having someone certified in the role could lead to work being done wrong or incorrectly and require extra costs to have it corrected. Sigmeth also mentioned going without a CAO runs the risk of potential legal troubles.

Acting-CAO Robbie Bender, who is also the town’s bylaw officer, expects Yaremchuk will become the new acting-CAO some time after the regular council meeting Nov. 13.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno