The City of Port Alberni has hired a new chief administrative officer. Michael Fox will be joining the city staff from the City of Lethbridge, where he was general manager of community services.
“Council and I are pleased to welcome Mr. Fox to the City of Port Alberni,” Mayor Sharie Minions said in a press release. “During the executive search process members of council were excited by the alignment between council’s vision and Mr. Fox’s experience and strengths,” Minions said.
“Council felt strongly that the CAO should be a person whose attributes of empathy, energy and authenticity aligned with council’s vision for our community,” she said. “I look forward to working closely with Michael, and drawing on his skills, knowledge and leadership, which will be integral in the continued implementation of council’s strategic goals.”
Tim Pley retired from the CAO position in Port Alberni at the end of 2021, and was rehired as a contractor in April 2022 when the city wasn’t successful in filling the role. This time around Brentwood Advisory Group assisted in the executive recruitment process.
Fox will replace Pley in mid-March. The CAO is the most senior municipal employee and reports directly to mayor and council. The CAO leads staff in all aspects of operations and also represents the city in matters involving First Nations, the provincial government and other local governments.
Prior to working for the City of Lethbridge, Fox was general manager of community services for the Regional District of North Okanagan, where he looked after a wide range of services, from fire protection to waste management, transit, trails, parks, recreation and culture. He worked with the RDNO from September 2017 to March 2021 when he moved to Lethbridge.
In Lethbridge he had much the same portfolio, according to his Linkedin profile, as well as community social development and Indigenous relations.
Fox began working in municipal government in the early 2000s in Bridgewater and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, before moving to British Columbia to the City of Kimberley in 2010. He spent seven years as the director of operations in Kimberley, overseeing public works and infrastructure, before moving in 2017 to the RDNO.
Fox will assume his new role in Port Alberni as of March 15. Current CAO Tim Pley is contracted to work for the city until the end of March. He said he will take his lead from Fox as to how much crossover there may be. “If he wants me to be available for part of (the month) I will do that,” Pley said.
“I’m already in contact with him; the transition has already begun. Although he’s not making decisions he’s becoming informed.”
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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