Council approves appointment of new CAO for City of Swift Current
A new hand is providing organizational leadership for the City of Swift Current, but it is a familiar face in the seat of the chief administrative officer (CAO).
Council members approved the fulltime appointment of Jim Jones as CAO during a regular council meeting, March 20. He has been serving in an interim capacity since Feb. 1. The position became vacant due to the retirement of former CAO Tim Marcus at the end of January 2023. Mayor Al Bridal presented a report during the meeting that recommended the appointment of Jones as CAO with immediate effect.
“When City council held discussions regarding the requirements to fill the Chief Administrative Officer's position on a permanent basis, they first looked within the organization to identify potential candidate,” Bridal said.
They did not feel a need to look any further after reviewing the criteria of the CAO's role and considering the experience of Jones. He served as interim CAO on various occasions and he played a key leadership role in the development of the City's new five-year strategic plan, titled In Good Hands, from late 2020 until its adoption in September 2022.
“His leadership throughout the entire process was remarkable,” Bridal noted.
“Over the course of the past three years, each time Mr. Jones has stepped into the role of CAO, he has demonstrated to City council that he can effectively fulfill these duties and that we truly are in good hands. It is therefore council's desire to have Mr.
Jones continue to lead the organization on a permanent basis.”
The CAO is the administrative head of the City.
The person in this position oversees City operations and provide leadership to employees. The CAO is accountable to City council and responsible for leading the implementation of council's priorities. Jones spoke to local media about his appointment after the council meeting.
"I feel very humbled,” he said. “I think over the next little while we'll be building a general managers team that I think will be very good, and I look forward to it. I love living in Swift Current.”
He has been a City employee for nearly four years and before that he served in various roles during a municipal career of 25 years. He was born and raised at Conquest in Saskatchewan.
He graduated from Kelsey Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences with a diploma in recreation in 1984. He is also University of Alberta graduate with a certificate from the municipal management and leadership program.
His first job was as the recreation director in the town of Kyle, north of Swift Current. Thereafter his career took him to Alberta, where he worked for many years at the City of Leduc. He held several positions, including community development coordinator, sport and agricultural tourism coordinator, manager of community development and culture, and manager of community partnerships and sponsorships.
He has been a strong proponent of supporting community organizations that provide quality recreational services in a community.
“That's kind of what my focus was and where I've been successful is that I'm a community person and I enjoy being in the community,” he said.
He was the executive director of the Alberta Amateur Softball Association in Edmonton for 12 years and he filled leadership roles for various projects and events, including the 2012 Hockey Canada TELUS Cup, 2010 Hockey Alberta Cup, and several Western Canadian championships. He was happy to return to Saskatchewan in July 2019 to take up the position of general manager of community services at the City of Swift Current.
“When the opportunity came up, it wasn't a hard decision for our family to move here,” he said.
His management style aims to provide staff with opportunities to do their job and to grow in their roles.
“I basically see myself as an enabler,” he said. “I let people do the job that they were hired to do, and at the end of the day, if there's something that's coming up that it doesn't seem right or whatever, then we'll tag team and see how we can move it to the next level. I'm a huge proponent of letting people do what they do well. So that's what you'll probably see from me.”