*article updated from earlier version, with addition of mayor Paul Reutov's comments
LAC LA BICHE - Lac La Biche County's CAO Ken Van Buul is out of a job after a majority of council voted against extending his work contract.
The decision was made late Tuesday afternoon, following an all-day public session of Lac La Biche County's special council meeting on budget deliberations. A discussion topic on the CAO's contract was on the meeting's scheduled in-camera session. Details of information from those meetings are protected by Freedom of Information and Privacy legislation.
After the short, private session behind closed doors a the end of the meeting, Mayor Paul Reutov announced that a motion to enter into a contract extension with Van Buul had been defeated by council.
The vote was defeated by a 5-4 margin, with Mayor Paul Reutov, councillor John Mondal, councillor Kevin Pare, councillor Sterling Johnson and councillor Darlene Beniuk voting against the contract extension.
Hired in 2020
Van Buul began with the municipality as the interim CAO in March of 2020, replacing the previous CAO who had left the position in November of 2019. He completed a six-month contract at the start of October of the same year, and entered a one-year contract with the municipality on Dec. 30 as the CAO.
Van Buul came to the municipality from Parkland County where he had been the managing director of Strategic Initiatives.
With Van Buul's departure, council approved the appointment of current associate CAO Dan Small as the acting CAO effective Jan. 1.
Speaking to Lakeland Today Wednesday morning, Small said to his knowledge there was no severance payment relating to council's decision. When asked if there were specific reasons why council chose to not extend the contract, Small said council has alluded to a need for a change of leadership.
In a statement made on Wednesday afternoon, the mayor thanked Van Buul for his time with the organization.
"Council felt that change to the County's leadership was needed. We thank Mr. Van Buul for his contributions while at lac La Biche County and we wish him success in the future," said Reutov.
Municipal officials say the departure won't affect current projects, programs and services.
Search is on
Council has approved plans to begin the hiring process to find a new CAO.
According to the county's job description of the CAO role, the Chief Administrative Officer "sets up and oversees a municipal administration." That administration is charged with carrying out Lac La Biche County Council’s projects and priorities, which are decided upon in budget deliberations and Council meetings.
By law, the CAO is the only person directly employed by municipal councils. All other personnel are employed by the CAO (as needed). The CAO also chooses the organization’s structure and departmental breakdowns to best meet Council’s goals.
Van Buul remains with the organization until the end of his current contract on December 31, but is on holidays until that date.
The next Lac La Biche County council meeting is on January 25 of 2022.
