City Council announced Tuesday (Dec. 10) that City Manager Bram Strain is resigning from the City of Lethbridge due to personal circumstances.
Strain moved to Lethbridge from Winnipeg, MB, and began work on August 15, 2018 with one of his first tasks being to lead the organization through a comprehensive operational review.
He actually informed council of his resignation back in October but because of the ongoing operational review at the City, it was kept quiet until now. Strain told media the decision is 100 per-cent personal and not professional, adding he will be relocating but wouldn’t disclose where.
“We thank Mr. Strain for his commitment and leadership for the past 16 months,” says Mayor Chris Spearman. “We were lucky to have found a city manager who embodies the qualities we were seeking to lead our organization into the future. Bram has an outstanding breadth of experience in leadership, innovation and change management that served Council, our organization and our community very well. We understand that leaving can’t be easy and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
“It is with regret that I tendered my resignation from the City of Lethbridge due to personal reasons,” says Strain. “I have enjoyed my time here and have been fortunate to have been able to lead at a municipal level. Being able to see how you can positively impact the community every day, really is a special thing. I would like to thank the citizens, organizations and city administration of Lethbridge for being welcoming and open-minded in working towards making the city a better place to work and do business. I am proud of the work that has started during my tenure and the process of operational reviews will continue to provide a way forward for years to come.”
A search firm has been engaged and the search for a new City Manager is underway. City Council has appointed a four-member committee that will lead the search and recruitment process. The committee, consists of Mayor Spearman and Councillors Jeff Coffman, Belinda Crowson and Joe Mauro.
City Council remains committed to their strategic plan and the operational review process during this time of transition.
(Contains info from City of Lethbridge news release)