While the city ramps up its recruitment efforts for the soon-to-be chief administrative officer vacancy at City Hall, plans are in place to buy some extra time if needed.
Outgoing CAO Jerry Knox is set to retire on June 3 and the hiring committee in charge of deciding who fills his shoes has narrowed the field of applicants considerably.
But in the meantime, City Council has unanimously approved the appointment of the city’s managing director of corporate services and human resources, Lea Janisse, as the interim CAO effective June 4.
As Mayor Al McDonald explained, it’s the councillors way of taking a proactive approach and buying themselves some time so they can be completely confident in the final decision they make.
“We thought we would be proactive and assign an interim CAO if we don’t have that person in place - it’s all part of the process,” said McDonald.
Janisse did not apply for the position, nor will she be eligible to take over the position permanently.
Overall, the field of applicants was pooled from across the country after Knox announced his retirement last December.
A hiring committee comprised of the Mayor, members of council and various representatives of senior city administration has since been whittling down the ample amounts of applications.
“We’ve hired a firm to cast a net across the country and […] we did receive 110 applications and we have it down to 25,” McDonald explained.
“We want to be absolutely sure that we hire the right person, so we’re not going to rush the decision,” he continued. “If that takes us an extra three months, four months or one month, that’s the length of time it’s going to take.”
There is no hard date for when the committee wants to have the permanent person in place, but McDonald said there were no surprises in the amount of applications seeking the city’s top job.
“We live in a great city with a great lifestyle,” said the Mayor. “We are very competitive in our wages - we’re not the highest by any stretch of the imagination, but we’re competitive.
“I think people look at North Bay as a desirable place,” he added. “It’s a very stable government, the community is doing well and they see it as a great opportunity.”
