Woodlands County has new Interim Chief Administrative Officer

By Vicki Winger

 With the former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Woodlands County (Luc Mercier)moving on in his career to become the CAO for the MD of Bonnyville, Woodlands County contracted Pat Vincent to step in on September 26 as the Interim CAO.

Vincent’s employment background made for a good fit as he was the town manager of Beaumont for several years and the CAO for Parkland County for the past eight years. Before retiring from that position and starting his consulting firm three years ago he took on several contracts as an Interim CAO for various counties throughout the province.

 Vincent said,”Council is in the process of recruiting its new CAO. James Davies was retained from DCG Consulting who did the advertising and recruitment for the position and supplied a list of 35 applicants which council short-listed to five. Council will then determine the candidate who it feels meets its requirements. It could be March 2019 before an announcement is made. Interim CAOs are typically in place for six months before a permanent CAO is hired.”

The biggest challenges of a CAO according to Vincent is “ensuring that thelevel of service council approves through the budget process is met.”