The District of Houston didn’t have to look far when it began looking for an interim chief administrative officer (CAO) while it looked for a permanent one to replace Gerald Pinchbeck who left the end of July.
As it happened, Pinchbeck went to Vanderhoof as its permanent chief administrative officer meaning the person who was filling in was then freed up for another opportunity.
And that’s how Martin Taylor arrived in Houston this month to be the interim CAO.
Taylor arrives with several decades of local government and other administrative government experience, most of it in Alberta.
His last job was in 2019 whereupon he retired and he and his wife moved to Prince George to be closer to family members.
It didn’t take too long for a phone call from a consulting company asking if he was interested in an assignment in Vanderhoof as it had just lost its CAO.
“So I drove out and met the mayor, Gerry Thiessen, and we looked each other over and I signed a contract. I was there from late April to late July,” said Taylor last week.
He might be here for at least that long, mostly in a caretake role to work with District employees on various projects already underway.
“I’m anticipating being a mentor and a coach,” said Taylor. “I’m finding people can be anxious, they’re tired of COVID. They’re just generally tired.”
But Taylor also said an interim CAO must also be prepared to make difficult decisions based on situations and circumstances that may arise.
So far he’s been getting acquainted with District staffers and becoming familiar with initiatives such as plans for a replacement community hall and replacement fire hall.