Yesterday, we welcomed our new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Bernie Morton! Bernie and his family have just moved to Chestermere and if you see him out and about, I encourage you to join us in giving him a warm Chestermere welcome.
Hiring a new CAO was one of our Strategic Plan goals and I am happy that Bernie will be taking the helm. We look forward to having him bring his economic development and customer service experience to the role.
I’d also like to take a moment to thank Pat Vincent who has served as the City’s interim CAO for the past 8 months. He has done an admirable job providing leadership and stability to the organization and we wish him well in his future endeavors.
Over the next few weeks, as Mr. Morton gets up to speed on our community, we are planning to tackle some major projects.
First, we expect to have the full report on the Amazing Chestermere event we had in June. We are eager to get the final report and start making progress towards some ambitious goals.
Second, as the legalization of recreational cannabis use is just around the corner, we will be amending our local enforcement and land use bylaws. We appreciate all the input that was provided in the survey we had last spring and we intend to have an open house so residents can continue to be involved.
We are also launching the beginning of the 2019-2022 budget process. This begins by asking residents to let us know where you think we should make adjustments. Visit chestermere.ca/budget to participate in ‘slicing the budget pie’.
Finally, thank you very much to all the folks who let us know they are enjoying the planters around our community. Our parks staff have done an exceptional job and we all appreciate the beauty they add to Chestermere.
On behalf of Council, we hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and stay safe!
Mayor Chalmers
