Regional councillors are back to budget talks on Tuesday evening. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens is about to announce who its new top staffer will be.

Councillors will publicly appoint the region’s new chief administrative officer at a special meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

In a staff report, acting municipal clerk Heather Cook says more than 40 applications for the job were received from across Canada.

Shortlisted candidates went through two interviews with the region’s CAO selection committee. That committee included Mayor Scott Christian, and councillors Maddie Charlton, Stewart Jenkins and Courtney Wentzell.

Councillors fired the previous CAO Cody Joudry in mid-December. No reason was given for his dismissal. Joudry was on the job for just over a year, hired in September 2023.

Dan McDougall has filled in as interim CAO since Joudry was fired.

The region’s new CAO is set to start the job in mid-June.

Queens councillors are also back to budget discussions on Tuesday evening. 

This will be the third public meeting about the 2025/26 budget.

Councillors began their budget deliberations on April 24 by looking at capital and infrastructure spending. Last week, they tackled the operating budget. 

On Tuesday evening, they’ll address issues that came up in the first two meetings, as well as any other changes or requests from councillors.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR last week that the region has about a $1-million surplus from 2024/25. But he said the specific surplus won’t be known until finance staff go through the final numbers and release the audited figures later this year.

Residents or the media were not provided with draft budget documents as they were last year. So far, only the region’s staff and councillors have a complete picture of the actual numbers from 2024/25 and the forecasted totals for this year.

The special meeting will be held at council chambers on White Point Road and livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

The Region of Queens has appointed Dan McDougall as interim CAO. (Rick Conrad)

The Region of Queens has hired an interim chief administrative officer while it looks for a permanent replacement for Cody Joudry.

Dan McDougall will take over CAO duties from acting CAO Pam Lovelace, who will return to her job as municipal clerk. Lovelace, a one-term Halifax councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate, was hired in December.

McDougall has done the top job before at Queens. He was the interim CAO in 2023 after Chris McNeill resigned.

McDougall will fill in as CAO until the region finds a replacement for Cody Joudry, whom the newly elected council fired on Dec. 16, saying he wasn’t the right “fit”.

McDougall is a former CAO of the Municipality of Chester and for the Municipality of Colchester County. He has also worked for the province, as CEO of Housing Nova Scotia, and deputy minister of the Department of Municipal Affairs.

“Dan is a very accomplished executive manager with a proven track record supporting municipalities,” Mayor Scott Christian said in a news release.

“Council felt that it was very important to install an interim CAO who comes with a wealth of experience as a CAO, a strong reputation in the local government sector, and who does not want the permanent job, assuring that they can objectively support the organization through a robust recruitment process to identify the best candidate for the role.”

Council had hired Joudry in September 2023. The region had been without a full-time CAO since that May, when McNeill resigned.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Cody Joudry and Mayor Scott Christian at a recent Region of Queens council meeting. (Region of Queens YouTube channel)

Region of Queens councillors have fired Chief Administrative Officer Cody Joudry, saying that he wasn’t “the right fit” with the new council.

Mayor Scott Christian told QCCR on Monday that no specific incident led to the dismissal of the municipality’s top staffer.

“I think it just came down to a fit. It’s not uncommon when you get a new slate of publicly elected officials and they have their own vision and priorities for the community and direction they want to take the organization, and I think at the end of the day, the fit just wasn’t there. 

“We’re intent on achieving some big things. We have a lot of work to do. And at the end of the day, today’s decision reflected the fact that it was our judgment that in order to best potition ourselves to achieve that work and in the best interest of the community, we’re looking at finding a different person to function in the role of the CAO.”

Councillors called a special meeting late Friday afternoon for Monday morning to discuss a personnel matter in a closed-door session. Christian said the decision to let Joudry go was unanimous.

“I wish Cody all the best in his future endeacours. I think personally we connected and professionally we were able to work well together but at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of the priorities that council has, the vision we have for the future. We weren’t getting traction in advancing some of these priorities.”

Christian said he didn’t want to comment on specifically why Joudry wasn’t the right fit for the new council.

Joudry was hired as the region’s top staffer in September 2023. The region had been without a full-time CAO since that May, when Chris McNeill resigned.

Joudry’s family has roots in Caledonia and he is a member of the L’sitkuk First Nation in Bear River.

Senior staff members filled in as CAO after McNeill left and until the region hired an interim CAO before ultimately recruiting Joudry.

Recently hired municipal clerk Pam Lovelace will take over as acting CAO until council finds an interim replacement for Joudry, while they conduct a longer search for a permanent CAO. Lovelace is a former Halifax councillor and deputy mayor. 

Christian said he expects council to hire an interim CAO sometime in January.

“And then we’re really going to take our time and we’re going to be very deliberate about who we think is the appropriate candidate. Everybody knows this organization has a lot of challenges right now,” Christian said.

“There’s a lot of discontent amongst the public in terms of the services that are delivered by the municiapility. There’s a lot of work to do and we need to make sure that we find the best suited person to function in that role and to support the will of council to implement our decision making in a way that is going to advance things in a constructive way.

“There’s a new group of people who are representing the will of the residents of Queens and we are committed to working together, pursuing a new direction and we made the determination that we are going to best be served by undergoing our own process to find our right-fit CAO to work with us because we have a lot of work to do.”

He said councillors ultimately came to their decision during their closed-door session on Monday.

Christian said council decided to appoint Lovelace as acting CAO because they didn’t want to add more work to their senior managers. He said they already have some good candidates to fill the interim CAO position, until they can find a permanent replacement.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Region of Queens administration building. Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens Municipality’s Council has hired a new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).

During the September 26 regular council meeting, councillors voted unanimously to appoint Cody Joudry.

Joudry has over 16 years of municipal experience with previous leadership positions in Development and Tourism and Economic Development in Ontario, and management experience in Annapolis County. His diverse expertise spans community engagement, strategic planning, economic development, and customer relations.

Joudry’s family originates in Caledonia and he is a proud member of the L’sitkuk First Nation.

In a statement released by the municipality Joudry is quoted as saying, “I am honored to serve Region of Queens Municipality and look forward to leveraging my experience and passion in the service and for the prosperity of the residents.”

The Region of Queens has been without a full time CAO since Chris McNeill resigned in May.

Interim CAO Dan MacDougall, who held the position since May 2023, will work alongside Joudry during a brief overlap period to ensure a smooth transition. Mayor Darlene Norman expressed her gratitude to MacDougall, who came out of retirement to assist the municipality, as well as the Department Directors who served as acting CAOs during the summer months.

Cody Joudry becomes the fifth CAO for the Region of Queens Municipality since amalgamation in 1996 and promises to build positive and collaborative relationships with staff, Council, community members, and stakeholders in his new leadership role.

Joudry will start his tenure as CAO in mid-November.

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E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Dan McDougall photo from LinkedIn

A temporary replacement has been found to step in as the Region of Queens looks for a new Chief Administrative Officer.

The former CAO of the Municipality of the District of Chester Dan McDougall will assume the role until a permanent replacement is found for the outgoing CAO of Queens, Chris McNeill.

McNeill gave notice in March that he would be resigning to take up the same position for Annapolis County.

McNeill has been the CAO for Queens since January 9, 2019.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman is excited to land an interim CAO with McDougall’s experience to fill in while the Region continues their search.

“When a CAO is needed, it’s often CAOs who have retired because they can slip in the role and they have a sense of understanding of the Municipal Government Act, etc,” said Norman.

In addition to his time in Chester, MacDougall also served as CAO for Colchester, the CEO of Housing Nova Scotia and was Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs.

The Chief Administrative Officer oversees all employees in the Region and is the only employee a municipal council can directly hire or fire.

At the latest meeting, Region of Queens Council decided the search for a permanent CAO will be conducted by Gerald Walsh Associates.

Interim CAO McDougall will start May 8 and McNeill’s last day is May 12.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Region of Queens Council. Photo Region of Queens

After five meetings and hours of deliberation, the Region of Queens approved the 2023/24 budget at the most recent council meeting Tuesday, April 25.

Between the operating and capital budgets, the water utility and Hillsview Acres, the municipality is projecting $44 million in spending.

The budget includes big ticket items like $8 million for the construction of a new library and outdoor pool without raising property taxes.

We’ll have a more detailed breakdown of the budget later this week.

As the meeting continued, council approved the creation of three new public works positions.

The department will be hiring a Civil Engineering Technologist, Operations Coordinator, and a Survey Technician.

Council then awarded nine different community groups between $1,500 and $10,000 each from the Community Investment Fund.

The money will help the various groups including the Hank Snow Society, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, and this station, QCCR with operational expenses.

The Greenfield Community Park Society were the first-ever recipients of a capital grant from the Community Investment Fund.

The society will receive $32,000 to help offset the $124,000 cost of installing new equipment including: play structures, lighting, a community fireplace and garden behind Greenfield Recreation Centre/Church and the Greenfield School.

Council then agreed to hire Gerald Walsh Associates to conduct the search for a new CAO to replace the outgoing Chris McNeill.

Finally, a request for the construction of a “Little Free Library” was deferred until staff can complete the new policy for placing of memorials in public spaces.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be held May 9 at 9:00am in council chambers.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Entrance to Region of Queens council chambers. Photo Ed Halverson

The Region of Queens top employee has quit.

Chief Administrative Officer Chris McNeill has resigned to take up the same post in Annapolis County.

McNeill has been the CAO for Queens since January 9, 2019.

Mayor Darlene Norman says she held off making the news public until council and staff were informed of his departure.

Norman says council will now need to determine what their next steps will be.

She says there are senior staff members who can step into an acting CAO role on an interim basis, but they will need to begin the search for a permanent replacement.

“In today’s market, CAOs do not come a dime a dozen. I’d like to be optimistic and think that there’s someone who would love to live here in the Region of Queens,” said Norman.

The emotion was apparent as Mayor Norman talked about her respect for McNeill and the work he has done in his time in Queens.

“I have always supported CAO McNeill. I believe his heart is in the betterment of the community,” said Norman. “He’s a wise, intelligent person and when I learned of this, I said I didn’t know whether to cry or to wish him well, so I wished him well.”

McNeill will end his tenure with the Region of Queens in early May.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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