Help wanted — new county manager.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, at the end of the County of Barrhead’s regular council meeting Mark Oberg, county manager, tendered his resignation effective Dec. 16, 2016.
Oberg has been with the county since 2009. Before that he served as the town manager for Gibbons.
“I have been very pleased with my stay in Barrhead and the change has nothing to do with council, staff or the residents. It has been a pleasure to be able to serve the community,” he said in a telephone interview from Grande Prairie where he is attending a conference hosted by the Society of Local Government Managers. “For the last two or three years my wife and I had the end of 2016 as a possible date for retirement and that is what I have decided to do.”
However, Oberg said he doesn’t plan to retire all at once, but gradually. That is why he will be starting his own municipal government consulting business.
“I don’t think it is good or healthy going as a county manager, to go from 100 miles an hour to zero in one fell swoop,” he said. “This way I will be able to retire on my own schedule over the next few years.”
Although Oberg said with the changes the provincial government is expected to make regarding municipalities coming to different types of agreements with bordering municipalities, there will be no shortage of consulting work.
“Right now, even though I want to scale back, I still have energy and passion for municipal work and it is a field I would recommend to anyone just starting their careers,” he said. “Very few people think about working at a municipality. I think that is a mistake. Some of the best jobs in any town or county are right there at the municipal office.”
As for the process of how the new county manager will be chosen, Oberg said he is not sure. As a county manager, Oberg, often plays a major role in staffing decisions, but he isn’t sure how council will find his replacement.
“We (Oberg and council) didn’t have a lot of time to discuss what will happen as after I told them about my decision I had to leave for the conference,” Oberg said, adding he hopes whatever the procedure is, he would like to have a chance to acclimatize his replacement. “The one thing that I found very helpful is when I got here I was able to lean on the outgoing manager, Dale Uhrbach, who was here during my first two weeks and that is something I would like to do for my replacement.”
When asked if Oberg planned to leave the area to set up his new consulting business, he said no.
“For my wife and I, the County of Barrhead is home. This is where we will be,” he said. “My wife (Sue) will still continue to work for Woodlands County as the new director of finance administration. There will just be some changes in the Oberg household.”
Oberg concluded the interview by reiterating how much he has enjoyed being Barrhead’s county manager.
“I have had the pleasure of working for a solid council, excellent staff and for the next person I’ll know they’ll appreciate it as much as I have,” he said.
County of Barrhead reeve Bill Lee said council was completely taken by surprise, but that they understand his reason and wish him all the best.
“We definitely will be missed not only by council, but our entire staff and the public,” adding, he wasn’t one to shirk responsiblility. “He would go out of his way to find out what their issues were, find the information and come up with answer. He did the same for council.” he said, “We always had the proper information, which helps us, as a council, to make our decisions.
Lee added council is confident Oberg will be successful in his new endeavour.
“He is the type of man who is able to take on new challenges, whatever they are, and be successful.”
