
The village of Ashcroft has named Daniela Dyck, who was serving as the interim Chief Administrative Officer, to the job on a permanent basis.
Mayor Barbara Roden says Dyck has over 11 years of local government experience and joined the village in April 2019 as the Deputy Corporate Officer.
“Daniela stepped in and she has just done a fantastic job. She is really keen, she knows local government inside and out. We were very very happy to make the offer to her, and very happy when she said yes, she would be thrilled to step in and become our new CAO.”
The move means Ashcroft will not have to hire a CAO from outside the village, and Roden says hiring from within makes for an easier transition.
“Having someone in house can be a really really positive thing for a municipality because you’ve got someone who already knows the processes, they know the staff, they know the people, the village etc,” she added. “It’s one less thing for us to have on our plates. It leaves us free, all of us, to concentrate on other things.”
Roden adds there are no plans yet to fill Dyck’s old position.
“We’re talking with our senior staff to just see how they are managing. The COVID pandemic has just really impacted every aspect of local government but they’ve indicated that they are fine continuing as they are, so for the time being at least, we are just going to continue with the DCO position empty.”
Daniela Dyck replaced Barb Yanciw who resigned in March, six months after taking over from long time CAO Michelle Allen, who retired at 34 years with the village.