Ron McCullough resigns as CAO of RM of Sherwood
McCullough began working with the rural municipality during development controversy in 2014
Ron McCullough has resigned as the chief administrative officer for the rural municipality of Sherwood.
McCullough has been Sherwood's CAO since July 2014. He took the job amid controversy surrounding former reeve Kevin Eberle, deputy-reeve Tim Probe and the proposed construction of Wascana Village.
The village was envisioned as a home for up to 14,000 residents and would have been a $2 billion development. It would have been located south of Regina, where Eberle owned land.
Though Eberle recused himself from the development process, he stood to make nearly $60 million from the development. He was subsequently removed as reeve in February 2015. Probe was later charged with municipal corruption and breach of trust.
Mopping up
McCullough said he'd be described as a "change agent" by people he works with.
"I'll come into municipalities that are experiencing difficulty and do what I call the 'clean up' or 'mop up,' and then move on," he explained.
McCullough has been working for 40 years, 30 of which have been in public service. He said he has been working with municipalities for the last 15 years, usually staying with each for two to three years.
McCullough began working with the RM during an investigation by Queen's Bench Justice Ron Barclay, which became an inquiry and led to a lengthy report.
He said during his time with the municipality, it has gone from "poor governance to good governance, professional staff … [and] the staff providing professional services," and from a "municipality full of corruption to all of the corruption is done. Over."
McCullough had high praise for the RM's current staff.
"They know what the hell they're doing," he said.
"The team that's in place, in my opinion, is second to none."
'Job complete'
Jeff Poissant, reeve of the RM of Sherwood, praised McCullough's work following his departure.
"It's been no surprise though," he said of McCullough's resignation.
"Ron is a wealth of experience and knowledge," Poissant said. "I've learned a lot of good governance from him."
As a young reeve, Poissant said he benefited from the decades of experience McCullough brought to the table. Staff seem a lot happier and turnover has been reduced drastically, Poissant said.
"He left us in a great position."
McCullough said he plans to stick around Regina, and the work he has done with the RM has left a lasting impression on him.
"Long hours at times, various hours of stress from time to time," he said. "But quite frankly, job complete."
McCullough said he hopes to work with other RMs, non-profit organizations and whoever needs his services as a consultant.
"Simply put, I love what I do," McCullough said.