Ron McCullough resigns as CAO of RM of Sherwood

Ron McCullough has resigned as the chief administrative officer for the rural municipalityof Sherwood.

McCullough has been Sherwood'sCAO since July 2014. He took the jobamid controversy surrounding former reeve Kevin Eberle, deputy-reeve Tim Probe and the proposed construction of Wascana Village.

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The villagewas envisioned as a homefor up to 14,000 residents and would havebeen 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.

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Mopping up

McCullough said he'd be describedas a "change agent" by people he workswith.

"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.

McCulloughhas 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 fortwo to three years.

McCulloughbegan working with the RM during an investigation by Queen's Bench Justice Ron Barclay, which became an inquiry and led to a lengthy report.

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He said during his time with the municipality, it hasgone 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."

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'Job complete'

JeffPoissant, reeve of the RM of Sherwood, praisedMcCullough'swork 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."

Poissant said plans are being set in motion to find a permanent CAO replacement. The RM plans tocontinue business as usual in the meantime, with RodBenrothasacting CAO.

McCullough said he plans to stick around Regina, and thework 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.