A Chatham-Kent councillor is hoping to alleviate any concerns people may have about the municipality hiring a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
Brock McGregor is planning to bring a motion forward at CK council's next meeting requesting a report be made highlighting the finances and responsibilities of the new role.
"I think putting [all information] into a format that's easy to present to the public is helpful," McGregor told CK News Today.
The new position, which has not been filled at this time, has garnered a lot of attention across the municipality. This is mainly due to the expected salary which is slated to land anywhere between $196,476 and $240,957.
Despite the high numbers, CAO Michael Duben has explained the salary will have no impact on the current tax base. This is because the money is coming from the salary of the municipality's General Manager of Corporate Services. Cathy Hoffman, who also serves as CK's Chief Human Resource Officer, will be retiring at the end of April.
"It will have zero impact on our tax base, in fact, it'll have a positive impact on our tax base because I'll [also] be eliminating a position in the CAO's office... the manager of strategic initiative," said Duben.
He added he would have made a request for additional funds during the 2025 budget talks if he needed any.
Duties among all general managers, including the soon-to-be two vacant positions, will be reorganized across the entire management team. This would include the Deputy CAO position which will be on par with the rest of the general managers.
Duben's comments did little to ease some of the worries CK councillors have. Alysson Storey, Michael Bondy, Rhonda Jubenville, and Ryan Doyle expressed their concerns during a January council meeting. Storey specifically didn't like how the CAO and Deputy CAO roles were combining for a salary of over $500,000, while Bondy believes council would be pressured into hiring the Deputy as the CAO once Duben leaves.
Duben didn't agree with Bondy's concern, stating council will have the final say on whoever they want to be the next CAO. He mentioned they will have a qualified candidate in the Deputy, but there's no guarantee they'll be promoted.
After hearing what Duben had to say, McGregor is confident the hiring process will save the municipality money.
"Based on the CAO's proposed reorganization of management, the retirement of (Hoffman), and how he's reorganizing other positions, the expectation will be savings and I think that would be helpful to see in the report as well," he added.
McGregor's motion will be discussed at CK council's meeting scheduled for February 24, 2025.