Sally Edwards
Sally Edwards has handed out her last financial plan.
The longtime City of Kamloops finance director made her last public appearance before city council on Tuesday, Dec. 16, to introduce the city’s draft financial plan for the next five years.
Edwards is set to retire at the end of the month.
Edwards spent 16 years as the head of finance after the city headhunted her from the private sector.
One of the most difficult aspects of the job, she said, is that members of the public have rarely come to city hall to ask council to spend less money.
“The podium’s kind of like an ATM in council chambers,” she said.
“So, it’s difficult for me when they [council] say yes and we have to find the money.”
While Edwards believes the city is in a good financial position moving forward, she cautioned council will need to bulk up its emergency reserve funds.
“We experienced some emergencies this year,” she said, referencing a summer storm that overwhelmed city drainage infrastructure in less than an hour.
“People say, what do you need it for? And we did spend over $1 million this year out of that reserve.”
City CAO David Trawin said the hunt for Edwards’ replacement is on hold for the moment, noting assistant finance director Doug Stewart will step into the position for the next few months.
Trawin said the city did conduct a round of interviews in early fall, but decided to spend the winter reviewing the responsibilities and structure of the position.
“We want to make sure we’ve done that before we get a person in,” Trawin said.
He expects a posting for Edwards’ successor in March.
Edwards said she plans to stay in Kamloops following her retirement — though she’ll spend much of the remaining 2015 budget season on vacation in the southern U.S.
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