For the second time in two years, Estevan is in need of a new city manager.
Amber Smale has been dismissed from the job, a little more than 20 months after she was hired. Mayor Roy Ludwig informed Smale of the decision on Monday afternoon, and made the announcement Tuesday morning in an interview with
the Mercury.
The decision to let Smale go was unanimous among council members.
Ludwig said council wanted a different focus and a different direction from the city manager’s office, and so they needed to let Smale go.
Smale brought many good ideas to the job, the mayor said, and council will be following through on those ideas.
Those projects will include the corporate restructuring review that Smale initiated earlier this year. Also during her watch, the economic development portfolio was returned to the city, after being the domain of the Estevan Chamber of Commerce for many years.
“We will be continuing on all fronts where we were looking for areas of improvement,” Ludwig told the Mercury.
The corporate restructuring will hopefully lead to efficiencies in the city’s different departments, Ludwig said. Council will also forge ahead with the budgetary restraints that Smale had been working on.
Ludwig said council wishes Smale the best in the future. She will be paid a severance package of six months’ salary, as per the terms of her contract.
In an e-mail sent out shortly after the announcement, Smale said she holds no ill feelings towards council, and she looks forward to seeing great things that will happen in Estevan.
“I want to thank my employees for their hard work over the past year and a half,” she said. “We’ve accomplished many great things together and Estevan has a bright future that I hope is realized in the years to come.”
She cited several accomplishments during her tenure. Debt has been reduced by 12 per cent, and she says the financial position has gone from “near bankruptcy” to an anticipated surplus for this year.
The employee turnover rate has gone from 41 per cent to nine per cent, and there haven’t been any employee grievances filed in nearly six months.
Capital projects have finished ahead of schedule or on time, and have been under budget, and five-year strategic plan and capital plans are now in place.
All streets and underground infrastructure has been inspected and rated for repair based on priority, and data has been collected on tree inventory. A pruning program has started, which she said hasn’t happened for a decade.
A citizen satisfaction survey occurred earlier this fall.
“These are some of the City’s successes that have been recognized provincially for leadership and foresight,” said Smale. “I share this success with my staff. I hope they can keep the momentum going. Progress requires change and that’s not always easy. I’m thankful to have led that change over the past 19 months.”
Smale was hired in January of last year. She brought more than two decades of experience with the City of Regina. She was the deputy city clerk in Regina before coming to Estevan to replace Jim Puffalt, who was dismissed without casue in October 2013 after 12 years as Estevan’s city manager.
City treasurer Jeff Ward will serve as the interim city manager until Smale’s replacement is found. It’s a task Ward is familiar with, as he was also the acting manager after Puffalt was
dismissed.
Ludwig said council is not going to be in a rush to find a replacement for Smale, and they will work closely with Ward in the next few months.
