It’s the last day (September 4) on the job for the City of Williams Lake Chief Administrative Officer.
Milo Macdonald said it’s bittersweet as he’s had a great few years in the Lake City.
Macdonald came to Williams Lake originally to work for the RCMP so we asked him what was it like to go from Police work to working for the City.
“It was a big change. I always thought they were actually very similar jobs. A Police station is a collection of departments and a City is a collection of departments and it’s kind of a reflection on how well you manage things, how well you listen to people. The work is different but there are more similarities than you think and of course, Policing is still part of the portfolio that I oversee”.
Macdonald said he’s proud to have had the opportunity to work as a team with both the elected officials and the management team and union staff.
“Everything we accomplished has been as a member of a team. I think about things like the pedestrian bridge from Scout Island to the RC Cotton Site and just what a difference that’s made in people’s lives in opening up recreational opportunities in the community. It’s quite rewarding to walk along and realize you had a little bit to do to put that in place. The rest of the team had lots to do with it as well, I’m not taking any of the credit, it’s a good thing to be a part of”.
Macdonald added what he’s learned the most from being a first time CAO was the value of listening to people and to be able to hone his collaboration and diplomacy skill.
After nearly four years as the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Williams Lake, MacDonald will be heading north to be the CAO at the City of Fort St. John.