City of Merritt CAO Sean Smith to depart for private sector

MERRITT – The City of Merritt is once again on the hunt for a new chief administrative officer (CAO).

Sean Smith has informed the city he is leaving to pursue an opportunity in the private sector. His last day will be July 7, 2023.

“I wholly acknowledge that I always want to spend more time with my family and that’s part of the driver here,” said CAO Sean Smith. “It’s a job that it wants the best from you and you should give it your best and be prepared to give it your best and if you do, you are going to thrive in it. I just always had it where I was yearning to spend a little more time with the kids while they grow and I tried to restructure things a little bit and for whatever reason my nature is I always find my self diving back into work. For me, a little bit of this is me wanting to see a change and hopefully I can get into those habits that are going to have me spending the time and the focus where it needs to be most.”

Time a step back in time, Smith originally joined the City of Merritt staff in 2017 working as the Director of Corporate Services.

“I was working for a law firm down in Victoria as a municipal lawyer and I have always liked people and liked talking to people,” added Smith. “When you are doing solicitors work, you spend a lot of time behind the computer and you talk with people to give them advice and sometimes you watch them not take that advice and you die a little bit inside. I realized I want to be on the other side of the fence, I will take the advice and go run with it and I thought that there was a really cool opportunity to move up to the city of Merritt.”

In 2019, Smith took on additional responsibilities as Deputy CAO  before taken full control of the reigns in August of 2020 and he said the transition was smooth thanks to guidance from his staff.

“Back in the good old days before COVID and the flood happened, I was riding high and there was nothing that we couldn’t do or accomplish. I felt well prepared having worked with Scott [Hildebrand]  and his help making that particular transition. The team is phenomenal, the support they have given me has been huge. I thought that there was nuances that I still needed to gain and appreciate but I think that allowed me to let the strengths that I have shine out a little bit more and let me take some of the areas that I was a little bit weaker in, and delegate them to other people. I really felt like it was a really positive and helpful transition for me.”

Looking back at his near three years as the CAO, Smith said there is one obvious standout, the November 2021 flooding.

“I think I would probably say that it is the single biggest incident and its really defined the scope of work for the last couple of years so it’s definitely the biggest thing.”

But what transpired during the times of the flood and how the community is still fighting through to this day is what stands out the most.

“The highlight for me has been the way I’ve seen people rally around that event,” said Smith. “There’s been some cool stuff in our community where people have helped and supported each other and when you get into public service that’s kind of what it’s all about, you want to make a difference and you want to see other people making a difference. For as much as I feel like we did to try and help and support through formal programs, I was most touched by the informal acts of kindness and love that people showed for each other and that are still showing for each other. I will always take that with me because that was pretty cool to see right in your own community, just people giving as much as they did.”

While the City now tries to fill his position and find a new CAO, Smith gave some advice to whoever is next up to the plate to fill the role.

“Come in and love these people because they are going to love you right back. I will say that’s true for the staff, council, but the community as a whole, the more you embrace this community it will embrace you right back.”

Smith thanks all three councils he has been apart of, the staff team, the residents of Merritt, and his family for all the support they have given him throughout his time at City Hall.

“The city took a chance on hiring me in the first I was a relatively fresh young lawyer I grew a lot here and learned a lot here and certainly tried to give my best. We just have loved whether it’s getting out for an evening of soccer, whatever other activities, or the people we have met through school, it’s just been awesome to rub shoulders with the great people in the City of Merritt.”