The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is looking to hire a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer.
The successful candidate will report to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Michael Duben.
The municipality posted the job on Wednesday and the closing date for applications is January 31, 2025.
The job comes with an annual salary ranging between $196,476 and $240,957.
Duben told CK News Today it's part of a succession plan for when he retires in about four years.
"I think I owe it to the taxpayers and to the councillors to make sure I develop at least one person who can come in and take on the role," said Duben.
Duben explained the DCAO salary will come through attrition, adding he's already eliminated a manager's position and won't replace the next couple of managers when they decide to retire either. He said he'll restructure the roles.
Duben expects the person to be hired by the second quarter of this year, but admits that could change.
He said he wants to grow somebody from within the municipality to fill his shoes one day.
"The landscape is different now. There was a time when we had more depth and willingness for people to become the next CAO, but with the passage of time the senior team is very different now than it was," he added.
Duben noted some of his senior team is nearing retirement and don't want the CAO's job.
He also said hiring a recruiting firm to find his replacement costs money as well.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent currently has one CAO and five General Managers. Duben expects to have one CAO, one DCAO, and four General Managers next year due to a retirement.
The job posting stated the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO) will be responsible for assisting the CAO in developing and implementing the Municipality’s strategic plans, delivering upon Council’s term priorities, and overseeing long-range municipal wide projects and other initiatives.
The DCAO will also be responsible for coordinating the municipality’s advocacy to provincial and federal levels of government on matters of municipal or regional interest and importance.
Duben also answered questions around his attractive CAO salary.
His $319,278 earnings in 2023 ranks in the middle of the pack for CAO salaries in Ontario. By comparison, former CAO Don Shropshire earned $257,950 in 2022 before he retired. The salary of Interim CAO Tony Haddad is unknown. He replaced Shropshire and gave way to Duben.
Duben explained his pay is "not out of whack" when compared to CAOs with similar responsibilities, workload and experience.
He noted Chatham-Kent has a larger budget than some municipalities because it's responsible for large ticket items, such as police, ambulance, and long-term care and some municipalities are not.
Duben said he was not involved in negotiations before he was hired by Chatham-Kent, adding the recruiting firm negotiated the salary based on the current market conditions.