The city's quest to find a suitable replacement to fill a key position isn't going as smoothly as hoped.
Luc Duval, outgoing director of public works and engineering, resigned from his position on March 28. His last official day on the job was April 10.
City of Timmins CAO Dave Landers, who is leading the replacement strategy, said the city began a replacement process soon after Duval's resignation.
"Typically, recruiting for a department head is a longer process than most other municipal jobs as we are looking to find candidates with senior level municipal or private sector experience,” he said.
“Specifically, we were recruiting for an individual who has that senior experience and is also a professional engineer.”
Landers said the search has gone beyond the region.
"We posted locally through our usual media channels as well as through provincial organizations. Resumes were received and a shortlisting process occurred, leading to interviews with the CAO and director of corporate services."
Despite meeting with several candidates, there wasn't much traction gained.
"In that first round of interviews, we did not find a suitable candidate and so we are reposting and looking into other options for recruitment, such as utilizing external recruitment services. For this posting, we received approximately 20 applications. There were a few local applicants, but most of the resumes received were from outside of the region," said Landers.
Although the city still has a major vacancy, operations of regular municipal services and activities have not been adversely affected according to the CAO.
"In Luc’s absence, we have been managing the activities in the public works and engineering department as a team. All the managers of the department have stepped up to the challenge and are moving forward on all of the planned activities for 2017. In particular, our municipal engineer Pat Seguin has been helpful to me in offering his experience and leadership on a number of key issues," said Landers.
There is currently no timetable for finding a replacement.
