There was another new administration face seen at North Battleford city council Monday.
This time, it was the new city manager, as Jim Puffalt attended his first council meeting in his new role.
He is one of many new faces in the ranks of City administration, which includes new Parks and Recreation Director Bill Samborski, new Director of Business Development Jennifer Niesink and new Fire Chief Albert Headrick.
The difference is that this latest new face is the City's top administration official - the boss.
That meant a "jam packed day" for Puffalt, who arrives in North Battleford following a 12-year stint as city manager in Estevan that ended last October.
Puffalt told reporters he had started first thing in the morning and met with everyone at City Hall. He later held a management meeting after lunch and prepared for council that night and met with human resources to get up to speed on a number of issues.
He was happy with what he saw at his first council meeting, which included on the agenda the adoption of the 2014 budget. That process went smoothly, Puffalt observed.
"They went very quickly through the budget," said Puffalt, a testament, he said, to the staff who had put it together. "They had put a lot of work into it and made sure the information was there."
Priorities for Puffalt are to meet with each department manager and to start touring all the city facilities to see what they have. He was to the Credit Union CUplex earlier Monday and planned more tours over the next couple of weeks.
Puffalt also said he would be attending the annual SUMA convention next week in Regina in his new capacity, along with other members of council.
A key priority is filling the still-vacant director of finance position. Puffalt told reporters that posting is up now and will close by next week.
"We'll be working very quickly to get that filled and get somebody on the ground as quickly as possible," said Puffalt.
In speaking to reporters following the meeting, Mayor Ian Hamilton welcomed Puffalt's arrival and expressed satisfaction that the city manager's position was filled so quickly following the departure of Jim Toye to Prince Albert.
Between Toye's departure on Dec. 31 and Puffalt's arrival, the city manager's job was vacant in North Battleford for less than a month.
"We were very, very fortunate to have him come as quickly as possible, as he did," said Hamilton of Puffalt. The mayor also was happy with the two-months notice Toye had given prior to leaving, which Hamilton said allowed the city to "come upon an individual that had all the experience and the availability to meet our needs."
