Nelson’s chief financial officer and deputy chief administrator is leaving Nelson for a new job in Trail.
Colin McClure will become Trail’s chief administrative officer (CAO) and chief financial officer (CFO).
McClure’s job as head of finances in Nelson, which he has held for 11 years, will be taken over by the current deputy CFO, Chris Jury. The CFO is responsible for all financial and budgetary matters at a municipality.
The CAO, the position held by Kevin Cormack in Nelson, is the manager of all staff at the city and is the connection point between council and the staff, making sure the wishes and strategic priorities of council are carried out by staff.
McClure will take on both of those roles in Trail.
Even though he will have dual roles with a lot of responsibility, the City of Trail is a smaller operation because Nelson has its own hydro utility, a municipal police force, and a professional fire department. McClure points out, however, that in Trail the city runs the recreational complex, unlike in Nelson where it is run by the regional district.
A little-known fact about McClure’s job in Nelson is that he is also the financial manager, on contract, for the municipalities of Silverton, Slocan, Salmo and New Denver. Jury will take over that work when McClure leaves.
McClure says the most rewarding part of his job in Nelson was a project that is not actually part of his finance job but was done as an extra, simply because of his personal commitment. He was the project leader on the development of the Rosemont bike park, which started out as a proposed skatepark that many people thought was unworkable but is now thriving.
“People said if it’s not downtown people won’t use it,” he says. “You go up there now and see kids on scooters, young and old on skateboards and bikes. There hasn’t been this huge crime and disrespect that people thought might come from that particular culture of skateboarding.”
The most challenging part of his job, he said, was helping shepherd the city through the pandemic by finding ways to push back various due dates and fees for local businesses.
He also said the city managed to avoid major layoffs and keep up with the demand for public services during the pandemic, while keeping tax increases at less than inflation.
Asked what he thinks the public misunderstands about municipal finances, McClure says he pays more for his internet and phone, on a monthly basis, than on city property taxes, water, sewer and waste combined.
“And for that I have transit and I get to go to great parks that are well maintained by our public work staff,” he says, adding a number of other services to the list: water, sewer, planning for development, snow removal, road maintenance, police services, and fire protection.
He said people don’t understand “how much they would pay if they had to pay individually for each of those services.”
McClure will leave Nelson City Hall near the end of May and will start in Trail on June 6.
bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter