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Town council approves new CAO contract

Motion passes unanimously to approve contract between town and Robert Jorgensen
The town has been without a permanent CAO since August, after former CAO Josh Pyrcz handed in his resignation.
The town has been without a permanent CAO since August, after former CAO Josh Pyrcz handed in his resignation.

After almost a year without a permanent chief administrative officer, the Town of Athabasca’s council unanimously approved a contract for a new CAO at a special meeting June 27. 

The motion, made by Coun. Steve Schafer, approves the contract between the town and candidate Robert Jorgensen.

Mayor Roger Morrill called into the meeting via phone and Coun. Tanu Evans was not present. 

The town has been without a permanent CAO since August, after former CAO Josh Pyrcz handed in his resignation. Parks foreman Warren Zyla filled the role until October, when the town's former CAO Doug Topinka stepped into the role on an interim basis.

Council began the hunt again for their administrative leader April 18 after Morrill, also chair of the hiring committee, brought the item up for discussion. 

On May 9, Coun. Tim Verhaeghe made a motion to advertise for the position with a salary between $110,000 and $145,000.

Jorgensen comes to Athabasca with decades of experience under his belt as a CAO and Rural Municipality (RM) administrator. 

According to his LinkedIn profile, Jorgensen started out in 1991 as a rural municipal administrator for nearly 12 years with the RM of Kellrose No. 247, and was then CAO for the Municipal District of Fairview for four years and CAO in Two Hills for six years until 2013. The profile states that since 2013, Jorgensen has held five different positions, most recently as RM of Leask No. 464 in Saskatchewan.

For more on the story, see the next edition of the Athabasca Advocate.

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