By Dominic Abassi

Seward offered early retirement package

Jun 10, 2016 | 8:22 AM

Nearly 30 years of experience is on the way out the door at Nanaimo City Hall.

John Van Horne, the city’s director of human resources, says Toby Seward’s last day with the city will be Friday, June 10th.

Seward is currently serving as acting senior director of strategic operations. He’s been with the city for 29-plus years.

Van Horne says Seward was given a negotiated package as part of an early retirement incentive, although he would not disclose details of the package. That incentive was offered to facilitate organizational restructuring, according to Van Horne.

Seward’s departure, combined with the recent resignation of IT Manager Jason Birch, marks 18 high level staff that have left Nanaimo city hall in the last 18 months.

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In fact, what Van Horne would consider the senior management team has been nearly cut in half over that time.

Senior positions vacated by Guillermo Ferrero, Chris Jackson, Suzanne Samborski, Tom Hickey, Geoff Goodall and now Toby Seward have not yet been filled.

A posting for Goodall’s role as director of engineering and public works is expected to be up next week, while the posting for the city clerk job, designed to fill Jackson’s departed role, closes on Monday, according to Van Horne.

Van Horne says a document outlining the organizational restructuring will be released to the public soon, likely next week.

That document is expected to outline which of the vacated positions will be filled, changed or eliminated.

He says that restructuring has come about because of a desire for change with the new council being elected late in 2014, the core review and new CAO Tracy Samra, who was brought in as an agent of change.