Council may seek interim city manager while searching for replacement
The search is already on to find North Battleford’s next city manager, but Mayor Ryan Bater isn’t sure if a replacement can be found in time and said council needs to decide if there’s a need for a temporary replacement.
Yesterday it was announced that current city manager, Jim Puffalt, took the same position in Moose Jaw starting in May. With just under six weeks until Puffalt’s departure, Bater said the city already began the hiring process with help from a firm.
“We will be conducting a nationwide search with this firm beginning immediately,” Bater said. “Council has yet to make a decision on whether or not interim management is required. That’s something that will need to be discussed in the very near future, but in the short term, the recruitment effort is already underway.”
As for a timeframe to when the position could be filled, Bater said it could take months to half a year. He was a councillor in 2014 when Puffalt was hired and said the process took roughly three months.