Mayor Rod Perkins is shown flanked by Audrey Hebert (left), the town’s new chief administrative officer (CAO), and Kim Vogel, the town’s director of transportation and environmental services, after council had announced Hebert as the new CAO. Vogel has been appointed as deputy CAO, so she will fill in when Hebert is away from the office.

Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

Audrey Hebert has been announced as the new chief administrative officer (CAO) for the Town of Kindersley after working in the town’s administration for 11 years.

The town’s elected officials conducted the process to find the next CAO for Kindersley and they decided to hire from within the organization after considering the different candidates for the position. Hebert was director of corporate services before her appointment as CAO.

Hebert had been serving as the interim CAO since her predecessor, Bernie Morton, resigned to become the chief administrative officer in Chestermere, Alta. The new CAO brings more than two decades of municipal experience to the position.

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She noted that she received a diploma in public administration before taking a position as an assistant administrator at the Rural Municipality of Kindersley in 1988. She worked there for 10 years until 1998 when she resigned from the position to focus on personal responsibilities such as motherhood, she said.

Hebert then started as the finance officer for the Town of Kindersley in 2007, and she has worked for the town ever since. Her position had changed since she started and she became the director of corporate services.

The new CAO said her duties as director of corporate services revolved around all of the financial aspects of the municipality, so she worked on budgets, accounts such as utilities and taxation. The position included all the money in and money out for the Town of Kindersley.

She noted that she was hesitant at first about applying for the position because the town was accepting applications from all potential candidates, but she decided to throw her name in the mix after she learned more about the initial group of applicants. Hebert said she had the qualifications, so she chose to apply.

Council members had not made a decision after the first round of applicants, so they continued with their search and Hebert applied at the time. She said she was not too involved with the process to replace Morton, but she had seen the applications.

Hebert said there are no plans to hire a new director of corporate services, and aspects of her previous position will be rolled into her duties as CAO. The head of the administration said she is looking forward to the new role, and she wants to restore confidence in the

“I really want to see the trust in the town come back,” she said, recognizing that she was born and raised in Kindersley and, with it being home and a good community, it is not fun if people believe the town is up to no good. “I’d like to work at it and gain that trust back from our ratepayers.”

According to Hebert, the town tries to have its residents’ best interests in mind. She said money is tight and town officials are not always able to do everything people want, but the town will do its best to make things happen.

She noted that her new position has an increased management component, but her new duties will pull her away from her desk more often. Hebert said she has already realized that she is going to attend more meetings as CAO than in her previous role. She said she will also work on succession planning.

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