Summerland administrator out

By John Arendt - Summerland Review  Published: January 17, 2012 5:00 PM 
The municipality of Summerland is now without an administrator as of Monday.  “Council for the District of Summerland advises that Don DeGagne, the Chief Administrator, is no longer employed with the District effective Jan. 16,” Mayor Janice Perrino said. “Council and the District of Summerland thank Don DeGagne for his many years of service to the community and wish him the best in all of his future endeavours.” DeGagne was hired as municipal administrator six years ago, after former administrator Evan Parliament was dismissed. Perrino said DeGagne’s departure was amicable for all involved. At present, there are no plans to immediately fill the administrator’s role, although council will discuss filling the position in the future. In the interim, Ken Ostraat, municipal treasurer, will handle the administrator’s duties. DeGagne’s departure is the second time in just over a year that a senior member of staff has left the municipality. Late in 2010, Scott Boswell’s position of economic development officer was eliminated. In 2011, the municipality commissioned the Helios Group to conduct an organizational review of municipal operations. While the tone of the report was mostly positive, it identified a number of areas of concern. These included the need to focus on adherence to long-term plans, the need to improve communications within the organization and improve cooperation between department and the need to standardize business processes at the municipal level. The report also stated that the public believes the municipality has made significant improvements in the past couple of years. When the report was released in summer, Perrino said council would look at making improvements based on the recommendations.