Andy Daggett turns down CAO position for Three Rivers

After 12 years serving as CAO in Montague, Andy Daggett will be stepping away from the position, as the recently-formed municipality of Three Rivers looks to put together council.

Three Rivers encompasses the boundaries of the Montague, Georgetown and Cardigan fire departments.

Positions in council will be offered to former employees in the Georgetown, Montague and Cardigan areas, in accordance with the new Municipal Government Act, said Mayor Ed MacAulay.

Both Daggett and Jill Walsh, the former director of finance of Montague, were the candidates considered for the CAO position of Three Rivers, MacAulay said.

Negotiations

Following an interview process, Daggett scored higher and was offered the job but turned it down after salary negotiations resulted in an impasse, MacAulay said.

"We didn't think there was anymore negotiation possible," he said.

Shortly after, Walsh was offered the position and accepted after some negotiation as well, MacAulay said.

"Jill will have a little bit more of a learning curve I'm sure but at the same time Jill is very organized, very efficient in her work."

The motion to offer the position to Walsh was put forward on Monday night during a meeting of council, MacAulay said. It was the first opportunity to do so since Daggett was offered the position in early December.

Salary

The pay range for the CAO position is typically from $79,048-$88,969 in Cornwall, a town of about 5,000 people. By comparison, Three Rivers has a population of at least 7,000 people.

MacAulay said that Daggett's salary sat in the high $60,000s in his role as CAO for Montague.

Council was aiming to offer a salary of about $85,000 with benefits for the CAO position.

"That would be the lower end. But again — you've got to take into consideration we are just starting, we're just beginning a whole new town," MacAulay said.

"We wanted to be fiscally responsible this year, for sure. And then by the second year we would have a better idea of the range of salaries, what the needs are, what the workload is going to be like, who's going to be doing what," he said.

Although Daggett won't be taking the post of CAO for Three Rivers, MacAulay hopes he will be able to serve in another capacity. But an offer has not yet been made by council, he said.

"There's several roles that Andy could do an adequate, capable job. We just haven't really ironed-out those decisions," MacAulay said.

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