After 11 years with the City of West 麻豆精选, council has chosen to not renew Jim Zaffino鈥檚 contract.
Zaffino was the first chief financial officer and for the last five years has been the chief administrative officer for the city. He has been an integral part of the growth of the city that was incorporated in 2007.
However he says that the choice to not renew his contract by the new West 麻豆精选 Mayor and council comes as no surprise to him.
鈥淭hey are new councillors, they are going in a different direction, so it wasn鈥檛 a total surprise,鈥� said Zaffino.
鈥淭hey are younger鈥� they want to move in a different direction and change the branding, the only way they can do that is by firing the CAO. The CAO is the only one that can hire and fire staff. They (staff) all report directly to me and then I report to council. To change the brand they have to change me.鈥�
RELATED: Contract expires for West 麻豆精选鈥檚 Jim Zaffino
Over his time with the city, he has created the budgets for West 麻豆精选, including building his own budget program for the city so they would not have to pay for it to be made, created annual citizen surveys that council utilizes, set up the municipal contract with the RCMP, created a 10 year capital and operating budget, and the organizational structure of West 麻豆精选.
One thing he is the most proud of is the culture he was able to create in the office.
鈥淲hat I was able to do in West 麻豆精选, that was not just on paper. I created a culture where staff worked as a team and wanted to come to work.鈥�
Zaffino was recognized by the Local Government Management Association of British Columbia in 2011 when he was awarded the Professional Award for Leadership. The award is something that will always be proud moment in his career.
RELATED: Familiar face becomes West 麻豆精选 CAO
鈥淚 want to finish as many strategic priorities as possible, (before his contract expires June 28). Despite floods in 2018 we were 90.75 per cent successful in completing council鈥檚 strategic and operational priorities, and that is something that I am proud of.鈥�
This won鈥檛 be retirement for Zaffino though, he now looks forward to working with other municipalities and regional districts and help them achieve their goals.
鈥淭here are a lot of places that need help, so I am going to help by parachuting in,鈥� said Zaffino.
His love of West 麻豆精选 will never fade though.鈥�
鈥淚 see West 麻豆精选 as a growing municipality鈥t鈥檚 vibrant and people know that it鈥檚 not just a place you drive through. There are a lot of things to do and see here,鈥� said Zaffino.
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