Former City of Kelowna boss pinch-hitting in Summerland

KELOWNA – Stepping in as the top bureaucrat in Summerland is just what Ron Mattiussi wanted to do and about the right time for him to do it.

The former city manager with the City of Kelowna was retired for just over a year when he got the call from Summerland to fill in as temporary Chief Administrative Officer after Linda Tynan suddenly resigned from that position last week.

“I think she left on Wednesday and I got the call Thursday,” Mattiussi told iNFOnews.ca.

His retirement plan was always to take a few months to de-stress and figure out what he wanted to do. Part of what he planned to do was consulting work for cities but he also put his name on the list of the Local Government Managers Association so he could take on this kind of assignment.

Mattiussi noted that it’s hard for Interior cities to get short term replacement managers because people have to relocate, but it’s the type of work he relishes.

“The good thing about it is, you can bring somebody in with experience to keep the ship running and stabilize things and set it up for the new person coming in,” he said.

Tynan said she left for personal reasons.

Mattiussi said the Summerland council has set new strategic priorities for this term so he will work with council and staff to get those in place.

The search has started for a permanent Chief Administrative Officer, which can take a few months. Mattiussi said he would be advising on the process but isn’t likely to recommend who to hire.

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