The Village of Longview is once again looking for someone to fill its chief administrative officer job, making it the ninth time the position was posted since 2005.
Longview Mayor Kathie Wight said council voted two-to-one at a special meeting on Nov. 29 to revoke the appointment of Vicky McGonigle as the village chief administrative officer (CAO), giving few details as to why.
“There have been some concerns and I can’t go into it,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy decision to make.”
According to Leslie Fitzgerald, who is serving as the interim CAO for the village, nine people have served in the part-time position since 2005. The Village signed a management services contract with the MD of Foothills seven years ago and the last seven people to fill the CAO position have come from the MD, she said.
Wight said reasons for the high turnover range from employees leaving to care for family members to some moving on to other careers.
Leslie Lambert, corporate communications officer for the MD of Foothills, said the decision to revoke McGonigle’s appointment was made by the village council as per the regulations of the Municipal Governance Act.
“Everything else at this point is confidential,” she said. “The details of any further decisions or actions are not finalized and are not public.”
McGonigle took over the CAO position in May 2015 and said during the past few months a select group of residents in the community have been “mobbing” her at council and public meetings, and that she’s also had negative interactions in public.
“The climate I’ve been working in is so very intimidating,” she said. “It’s been a struggle to deal with the drama.”
At some council meetings, held in the community hall the third Tuesday night of each month, McGonigle said members of the public were permitted to speak rudely to her. During one meeting, McGonigle said a member of council thanked a resident who made a rude comment towards her (McGonigle).
“That’s very difficult to stay graceful through,” she said.
McGonigle said the situation has improved at council meetings since Wight took up the mayor’s chair in October. The mayoral position is alternated among the three-member Longview council.
McGonigle said Wight helped to bring decorum back to the council meetings.
Wight admits some meetings have gotten “heated” on occasion, requiring council to step in.
“There have been moments during the meetings that it has got away from how it’s supposed to be,” said Wight. “Once or twice it had happened and it was brought under control.”
McGonigle said the issues she’s faced goes beyond council meetings.
The former COA said she’s had negative interactions with some residents, including instances where people made an obscene gesture towards her.
“Sometimes I have coffee with friends outside of the village for fear they will take a lot of heat for being seen with me,” she said.
