A national headhunting firm has been hired to find Whistler's top municipal leader.
Council has decided The Caldwell Partners International is up for the job of finding the person to manage the multi-million dollar municipal organization, as well as work with provincial and federal partners to run the resort.
"We're not going to rush anything," explained Councillor Chris Quinlan. "This could take six months. This could take four months. The job will be done properly."
Outgoing Chief Administrative Officer Bill Barratt has set the end of June as his retirement date but said this week that he will stay on until the new CAO is hired to ease the transition.
"I think transition is important," he said.
He also stressed that the job of finding the new top administrator is council's responsibility and not a job for municipal staff.
Quinlan said council has been getting input from all sources in the community. It understands, he said, that this search has become a "lightening rod" and community members want council to understand just how important this position is in Whistler.
"(This position) is not just about running an organization that delivers sewer and water," said Quinlan.
The criterion for the role has yet to be developed, and council will be meeting with Caldwell to go over exactly what it is looking for in a successful candidate.
In 2009 the position paid a base salary of $201,106.58.
