Regina city council votes to fire city manager

Regina city council voted Monday to terminate the contract of city manager Chris Holden, effective immediately. The vote was 9-1 in favour, with Coun. Andrew Stevens voting against and Coun. Dan LeBlanc absent. 

Holden has worked for the city in some capacity for more than 40 years. He became city manager in 2016. Holden will be paid 17 months severance, according to Regina mayor Sandra Masters, plus other requirements according to labour law.

In September 2020, council approved a three-year extension of Holden's contract, so it was set to expire on February 29, 2024.

The city will begin the search for a replacement immediately, and according to a document will hope to have a new person in place by the end of the year. 

Council appointed city clerk Jim Nicol as the interim city manager. Nicol's annual salary will be $231,000 because of his "additional duties and increased responsibility attached to this interim appointment," according to city documents.

According to Masters, the move doesn't have to do with Holden's capacity to do his job. Rather, it has to do with the fact that council has many ambitious, long-term projects they want to start and they didn't want to have to bring someone into the fray in 2024, she said. She said they want new leadership in on the ground floor of these projects.

"It's very much focused in on the strategic priorities that council has identified, the amount of culture shift and innovation and experimentation and growth that the city needs to undertake," she told reporters after the council meeting. 

Masters said she and Holden had several conversations over the last few weeks about this move, and she said he understood. 

"I'm not sure you'll find a more loyal or dedicated civil servant than Chris Holden," she said. 

"It was a very cordial conversation."