September 14, 2011
Date set for DR
by-election
by Vance Gutzman
It's official.
Chris Carroll is Deep River's newest treasurer, after town council
passed a bylaw last week confirming his start date of this past Monday,
September 12.
"I can't imagine how we could have found anyone more suitable,"
Councillor Terry Myers enthused as the bylaw was read.
In the same breath, Myers asked the town's chief administrative
officer, Michelle Larose, for a run-down of the hiring process leading
up to Carroll's appointment, saying he had received a comment from a
member of the public regarding the optics of the hiring of a former
member of council for the job.
"I just want to make it clear that council was not at all involved in
the process," Myers said.
Larose then gave a run-down of the hiring process, noting it involved
herself and Jim Kutschke, long-time treasurer at the County of Renfrew,
who has forgotten more about the business than most people could ever
learn in a lifetime.
More than 20 applications were received, Larose said, and then she and
Kutschke whittled those down to five candidates for the actual
interview process, though one candidate ended up declining to be
interviewed for the job.
"At the end of the day we had unanimous agreement that Mr. Carroll was
the best candidate for the position," Larose said.
Carroll replaces Brian Quibell as municipal treasurer.
Quibell worked for the town since 1999 and has retired to enjoy the
good life at his home in Laurentian Hills.
The by-election to fill the seat vacated by Carroll, meanwhile, will
now take place on November 28, and not at the end of October as had
been previously thought.
Larose said the November 28 date is necessary in order to for staff to
undertake a great deal of preparatory work for the polls.
The town is not required to hold an advanced poll for the by-election,
Larose noted, but is doing so anyhow after consultations the Ministry
of Municipal Affairs suggested that because advance polls were held in
last year's general municipal election, it's only fair that they be
held again this time around.
The last day for candidates to file their nomination papers for the
vacant seat is Friday, October 14.
"We'll be short-handed for a little while, but come our first meeting
in December, we should be back to full force," Mayor David Thompson
said of the November 28 vote.
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