Rush job to hire permanent CAO catches some CBRM councillors off guard

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 1:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Cape Breton determination assembly has voted to marque its interim main administrative serviceman imperishable successful a astonishment move that immoderate councillors argue was excessively rushed.

During statement Tuesday, Coun. Earlene MacMullin unexpectedly projected an amendment to instantly appoint Demetri Kachafanas permanently to the relation of CAO — a presumption he's held connected an interim ground since Marie Walsh retired successful the fall.

MacMullin said Kachafanas, CBRM's erstwhile solicitor, has made significant improvements in operations astatine metropolis hall.

"The past medication I recovered precise difficult," MacMullin said. "This medication ... I'm lone going to talk for myself, for my constituency work, and things astir this building, I americium making crushed for the archetypal clip successful a agelong time."

Several of her colleagues agreed, including councillors Gordon MacDonald, Steve Gillespie and Darren O'Quinn.

Coun. Glenn Paruch — whose precocious father, Ray, was a longtime councillor with a penchant for quotable sayings — spoke successful favour of the administrative changes Kachafanas has made.

"I'm going to bargain a enactment that my begetter said, possibly successful similar 2001: 'We enactment the amusive successful dysfunctional,'" Paruch told council. "We've taken that retired this term."

Not each councillor, however, was successful favour of making a determination Tuesday. The docket for the time lone included processing a show valuation argumentation for the CAO's presumption and deciding connected a declaration structure.

Coun. Kim Sheppard-Campbell and Deputy Mayor Eldon MacDonald objected to MacMullin's amendment, saying they were not against Kachafanas, but they believed the hiring process was being rushed.

"I'm not prepared to marque a split-[second] determination connected thing that was conscionable got brought up 10 minutes ago," MacDonald said. "Personally, I was leaning towards searching for a caller CAO."

Other councillors said appointing Kachafanas instantly would perchance prevention CBRM the outgo of hiring a headhunting firm. Mayor Cecil Clark said it outgo CBRM astir $40,000 erstwhile it hired a steadfast successful 2014 and recovered Michael Merritt.

Sheppard-Campbell said Kachafanas mightiness good beryllium the front-runner for the job, but she wanted to spot the presumption advertised, contempt the imaginable cost.

"Our past CAO conscionable outgo america astir $500,000," she said, referring to Walsh's status package, which included 2 years' wage astatine astir $230,000 a twelvemonth positive benefits.

"To walk $20,000 to marque definite that we're doing the process fairly, to me, that's wealth good spent."

The CAO is lone answerable to assembly and is the lone unit presumption assembly tin prosecute oregon fire.

The amendment to name Kachafanas to the relation permanently passed 10-2, with Coun. Steve Parsons absent, and Sheppard-Campbell and the lawman politician opposed. Kachafanas near the country during statement connected the amendment.

Clark said contempt immoderate councillors' concerns astir the determination being sprung connected council, CBRM acceptable a precedent with the past CAO.

He said hiring Walsh permanently was discussed successful camera astatine a gathering successful 2017 and approved by question successful unfastened league aboriginal astatine the aforesaid meeting.

Tuesday's assembly docket contained astir 70 pages of inheritance worldly connected champion practices for hiring and evaluating a CAO.

It recovered CBRM's CAO wage is beneath respective different municipalities of a akin size, ranging from $244,500 to $292,000.

Clarke said different municipalities commonly connection the CAO a fixed-term declaration with hold oregon renewal options, which can bounds severance costs and supply assembly with immoderate flexibility.

Council voted unanimously to marque the position's fixed-term declaration for 5 years, with an optional three-year extension.

It besides voted to follow a new show valuation argumentation that volition spot assembly name a four-person committee to acceptable goals for the CAO in consultation with the CAO and elder staff. The declaration volition see those goals and yearly reviews to show progress.

Clarke said the declaration would person to beryllium ratified by assembly arsenic a whole. Failure to conscionable the goals could magnitude to termination of the CAO.

MacMullin said she was successful favour of the caller process because an effort to measure the erstwhile CAO had been scuttled by the erstwhile mayor.

"It was defeated earlier it started," MacMullin said. "It was convoluted. It was frustrating, truthful this argumentation is truly welcomed."

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