A Chatham Councillor is requesting a report on the new Deputy CAO position in Chatham-Kent.
Chatham Councillor Brock McGregor entered a notice of motion at the February 10, 2025 meeting requesting that the CAO’s office return to Council with an information report, following the hiring of the Deputy CAO.
“Outlining new EMT alignment and subsequent financial savings,” McGregor said in his motion.
The motion is set to be discussed at the upcoming Council meeting, scheduled for Monday, February 24, 2025.
Chatham-Kent’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Michael Duben recently provided some context for the proposed Deputy CAO position.
In response to a notice of motion by Chatham Councillor Alysson Storey, Duben provided comments in the report attached to her motion.
Duben said the cost and budget estimate for the proposed position is $0.
“This succession planning strategy will not require budget dollars and is expected to save us money once concluded,” Duben wrote, adding this item came before Council previously in Closed Session.
“No decision was requested as this is an operational issue under this purview of the CAO and much of this information shared should be kept and confidential. This matter has already been discussed in Council Closed session and two follow up emails have been provided to Council in response to questions.”
Duben said various questions have already been posed and answered and shared with all members of Council.
“In the few years prior to the departure of the previous CAO, at that time, there were a number of experienced members of the EMT that would be available and interested to compete for the CAO role should it become vacant in four to six years,” Duben wrote.
“Currently, the number of members of the EMT with the requisite experience and interest in the CAO role should it became vacant in the next five years, is limited.”
Duben said there was no request in the 2025 budget to fund this position because it will be funded with the dollars from the elimination of the manager of special projects role and the dollars from not filling a General Manager role upon their retirement.
“The vacant manager of strategic initiatives position will show up as an eliminated position in the 2026 budget,” he said.
“The savings from not filling the manager position in 2025 will help offset the cost of whatever overlapping salaries, if any, we may have between the date of the hiring of the Deputy CAO and the retirement of the GM. So, while the number of general managers currently reporting to the CAO is five and will briefly rise to six with the addition of a deputy CAO role, the intent is that in the near term there will be four GMs and one Deputy CAO. Hence, no overall increase in the size of the CAO and GM team. The Deputy CAO will be in the same pay band as a GM so there is no need to include it in the base budget.”
Duben said the primary purpose of introducing this role is succession planning.
“By taking this step, the next Council can be assured that they will have at least one internal candidate that will be sufficiently qualified to compete for the CAO position at the time of my departure, which is not expected to be imminent,” he said.
“As described in the job posting, the exact role that the Deputy CAO will play will be further refined depending on the successful candidates’ specific growth needs but will certainly include advocacy to higher levels of government and support for the growing number of strategic projects.”
Duben added: “This plan is designed to address some succession planning challenges that I believe are forthcoming and I am confident that it can be accomplished within our current budget envelope. I will not be using a recruitment firm for the new Deputy CAO role. We often use firms to assist with the hiring of GMs. This will save us at least $60,000. It is not accurate to conclude that the Deputy CAO will automatically become the next CAO. That decision will be up to the Council in place at the time that the CAO position becomes vacant. I concur wholeheartedly that the decision to hire a CAO is that of Council.”
Duben also said the suggestion that the CAO Performance Review Committee be involved in the hiring of the next CAO/GM is problematic because it is outside of the scope of the Terms of Reference for that Committee.
At the January 27, 2025 Council meeting, Storey’s three-part motion called on the CAO’s office to provide a job description for the deputy CAO role, along with a financial analysis explaining how the position will be paid for and comparisons with other municipalities.
Only the job description item passed.
The February 24, 2025 Council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Civic Centre in Chatham.
