The number of senior staff members no longer employed with the Village of Valemount continues to climb.
The Village of Valemount has announced the conclusion of Mark Macneill’s employment as chief administrative officer with the Village of Valemount, as of Aug. 31.
The Village says the matter is confidential, and it “is not in a position to comment further.”
The announcement comes just over a month after the Village announced the conclusion of Mark Brennan’s employment, as well. Brennan served as the Village’s corporate officer.
Macneill was hired back in March 2016, while Brennan started in April 2016.
Macneill told The Goat it wasn’t appropriate for him to comment on Village staffing.
Mayor of Valemount, Jeannette Townsend, did not comment when asked about the departure of either staff member.
Although the “media spokesperson,” Mayor Townsend has not responded to The Goat in four months.
Acting Mayor Hollie Blanchette told The Goat, “No comment on personnel matters,” in an email.
Dating back to November 2014, the Village has had two corporate officers and two chief administrative officers, respectively, not including interim positions.
Brennan took over for former CO, Andrew Young, who left for a job in Wells, B.C.
Macneill was hired in relief of former CAO, Anne Yanciw, who spent four and a half years with the Village of Valemount, three of those as CAO.
An interim CAO, Ken Wiesner, bridged a small gap between Yanciw and Macneill’s respective employment.
In 2015, the newly elected mayor and Council hired an outside firm to conduct an organizational review, which included a review of the relationship between the mayor and CAO. The $20,000 report pointed to a strained relationship between CAO and the mayor and said it was important to solve, as it was compromising Village operations and public confidence in staff and Council.
The report, released in June 2015, suggested the Village was run efficiently, and said while the relationship needed mending ” there was no cause for terminating the CAO.
Yanciw is now the CAO of Smithers, B.C.
A search will begin for a new CAO shortly, according to the Village.
