West Kelowna’s new top bureaucrat starts work Monday

KELOWNA – Paul Gipps is starting work as West Kelowna’s new chief administrative officer on Monday, July 8.

He’s taking over from Jim Zaffino whose contract was not renewed after a new council was elected last fall.

Gipps is moving from a similar position with the Fraser Valley Regional District, according to a City of West Kelowna media release.

“Council and I are very pleased to have found someone with Paul’s depth of local government experience,” West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom said in the release. “He brings a proven track record as a solution-oriented, customer service-focused leader with an excellent reputation for forming and maintaining solid partnerships with other governments and stakeholders.”

Gipps has close to 30 years of experience working in local government, although he started his career as a carpenter and a building official before moving into local government management, the release states. He worked as either chief administrative officer or deputy chief administrative officer in Terrace, Houston, Gibsons and Mission.

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