New hire of muni finance head will take time: Melamed

With Lisa Landry set to depart from the municipality at the end of November, and no apparent rush to replace her position, it appears Whistler could be without a general manager of finance as the next council enters the municipal budget process.

After serving the RMOW for 12 years in various roles, Landry tendered her resignation last week. She is currently serving as the general manager of economic viability — one of the most senior positions at the hall.

And while Landry’s next move is unclear, it appears she is planning to remain in Whistler.

“It was certainly unexpected,” said Mayor Ken Melamed on Tuesday (Nov. 8) of Landry’s resignation. “I was sad to hear that she’s leaving. Myself and council have a high amount of respect for her abilities.”

According to Melamed, Landry has proven herself to be more than capable of the job, which included overseeing the RMOW’s budget each year.

“When the previous senior (finance) manager Diane Mombourquette left, Lisa was promoted into this position, which she has served and filled well,” recalled Melamed. “She did progress from within the organization and came to us before then from the private sector.”

As for a replacement, Melamed said the decision for a new hire is up to chief administrative officer (CAO) Mike Furey, and that Furey will be taking his time with the process.

“The new CAO has been reflecting and part of his challenge is to not make decisions right away because of his recent arrival,” said Melamed. “He wants to reflect on these changes and give himself enough time before making a decision, instead of simply filling the position.”

Melamed added that Landry’s resignation comes at a time when there’s more focus than ever on management positions at the RMOW.

“What it does is provide an opportunity to reassess, and in this case, because there’s already a council direction for the administrator to do an organizational review, this really brings an additional focus to that process,” he said.

When asked if Landry’s resignation has anything to do with the organizational review or the recent departures of former CAO Bill Barratt and former general manager of environmental services Harry Kim, Melamed said those were unrelated instances.

“Really, these decisions have been independent and unrelated,” he said. “This is part of the changing dynamic within any organization. Every organization has to respond to the relationship and the contribution of each of the members and we adapt and evolve.”

Melamed also acknowledged Landry for her years of work at the RMOW.

“I just want to really thank her for her contribution — not only for her service to municipal hall in her duties, but I also want to thank her as a community volunteer,” he said. “I’m happy to hear from her she’s planning to stay in the resort and the community because she’s been a great contributor to both from within and outside of municipal hall.”