Rocky View County (RVC) has acted swiftly to fill its vacant Chief Administrative Officer role, after Al Hoggan filed his resignation from the position earlier this month.
At a meeting April 13, RVC council chose the County's executive director with corporate services, Kent Robinson, to fill in as CAO while council decides on its next steps regarding the role.
“[Robinson] has worked for the County for 35 years,” Reeve Daniel Henn said. “He is not new by any means. Council will have to get together and decide if we will hire an actual interim CAO to get us through the election [in October], or if we are going to move forward on finding someone full-time.”
Henn said Robinson has filled in as CAO before, most notably when RVC was going through the process to hire Hoggan in 2018.
“There was about six to eight months where we didn’t have a CAO,” he said. “Robinson looked after those duties quite well.”
As the next municipal election is just six months away, Henn said the timing of Hoggan’s resignation was not great, but oftentimes there aren’t choices in these matters.
“It’s a concern, but I don’t think it’s anything that is insurmountable,” he said. “Robinson is going to do a great job. I expect him to do more than just keep the lights on, but with that said, with any major projects going forward, I don’t think council expects Robinson to come forward with the latest and greatest cutting-edge ideas.”
Robinson's appointment came just four days after the County released a statement accepting the resignation of Hoggan, who has accepted a position with the Municipal District of Bonnyville.
“On April 1, Mr. Hoggan gave Council three months’ notice of his intent to leave his position to pursue a leadership opportunity with another municipality,” the release stated. “Council determined that, in the best interests of continuity for the County, they would release Mr. Hoggan from his contract early.”
Henn said losing Hoggan is a blow to County operations.
“Hoggan, in my opinion, did an amazing job for RVC,” he said. “He was on the leading edge for a lot of things. He was really good with forward-thinking and customer service. Losing that is huge.”
As Henn was appointed as RVC’s reeve last fall, he said Hoggan was helpful in getting him accustomed to the role.
“He helped me so much,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about Al. Whether it’s six months before an election or halfway through a term, losing a man with the work ethic of Hoggan is a blow, for sure.”
Henn said he is confident Robinson will do a great job as CAO while the County plans its next move.
Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz
