COCHRANE - The Town of Cochrane is making changes to its senior management structure.
It has eliminated several vacant director positions and created a new role: general manager/deputy CAO. The position has been filled by Black River-Matheson’s former CAO.
Cochrane’s CAO Monika Malherbe told TimminsToday the decision to restructure the senior management roles stems from an organizational review aimed at improving collaboration and communication across departments.
“Basically, we've gone through an organizational review,” she said.
The town has replaced a four-director structure with a general manager/deputy CAO role that divides municipal service responsibilities between the deputy CAO and the CAO.
“In essence, basically, it's just a senior management restructuring,” Malherbe said
Malherbe explained that many of the director positions were already vacant before the changes.
“So, this doesn't impact any directors,” she said.
SEE: Cochrane on the hunt to fill three senior staff positions
RELATED: Two ousted senior staffers suing Matheson for over $1.8M
Mayor Peter Politis said in a release on Thursday (Jan. 23) that the reorganization is also aimed at addressing upcoming retirements.
In November, Cochrane contracted Probity Municipal Consulting for two roles, one being the general manager of community services and deputy CAO. Matheson’s former CAO Chris Wray took on the role.
“He's still performing those services, and there's no anticipated change in that,” Malherbe said.
Probity Municipal Consulting is owned by Wray.
Last year, Wray and Matheson’s former clerk-treasurer Cassandra Child filed a joint lawsuit against the Township of Black River-Matheson alleging harassment, violations of employment rights, and bad-faith conduct. They are seeking more than $1.8 million for lost wages, benefits and mental distress.
SEE: Cochrane hires ex-Matheson staffers amid $1.8M lawsuit
The new role of general manager/deputy CAO will oversee several departments, including infrastructure, parks and recreation, planning and building services, information technology, and bylaw enforcement.
The position will also serve as a backup for the CAO to ensure continuity in leadership.
As CAO, Malherbe will continue to oversee other key departments, including administration and finance, human resources, economic development, protective and emergency management services, child care, and the Polar Bear Habitat.
While there might be a small savings to the town, Malherbe said cost-cutting wasn’t the focus of the changes.
“It's not significant with regards to the change in the senior management leadership, by eliminating the director positions,” she said.
“Underneath the general manager/deputy CAO, there needs to be additional support positions, so we have another manager of infrastructure that we still need to hire and a supervisor. So there really is no net reduction in the management. It's more about, I guess, just the structure in terms of who's reporting to who.”
Malherbe foresees several benefits from this structural change.
“I mean, it's hard to list them all, but basically trying to have the elimination of perceived silos. Better collaboration amongst the different service departments by having just two senior leaders overseeing those departments, as opposed to five. You'll have better communication. Everybody will be in the know about what's going on and working together,” she said.
Malherbe added that the town is hopeful the changes will bring positive outcomes.
“We hope. That’s the thought process. We’ll see how it rolls out,” she said.
