The District of Saanich and the newly elected mayor Richard Atwell have announced that the District's Chief Administrative Officer Paul Murray is no longer working for the municipality, citing this decision was made through an in-camera meeting.

The staff directs questions to the newly elected mayor Richard Atwell, and made this announcement:

Staff Announcement - Mr. Paul Murray

Saanich, BC - The newly elected Mayor and Council of the District of Saanich together with the District's Chief Administrative Officer have mutually agreed to end their relationship effective December 16, 2014. As this decision involves confidential information regarding personnel, no further comment will be made. The District thanks Mr. Murray for his service, and wishes him every success in his future endeavours.

At the December 8, 2014 in-camera Council Meeting the following motion was supported unanimously by Councillors:

"That Council does not support actions taken by Mayor Richard Atwell, whether as Mayor-elect or Mayor, with respect to the ongoing employment of Paul Murray as Chief Administrative Officer of the District of Saanich."

This in-camera meeting was the first opportunity for the entire Council to discuss Mayor Atwell's actions regarding the employment of Mr. Murray. Council through the above motion raised its concern and objection to the activities and the process that was undertaken by the Mayor without knowledge or agreement of Council. The actions taken by Mayor Atwell left Council with no viable options other than to proceed to end the employment relationship with Mr. Murray. Council is also concerned about the financial impact the Mayors' actions have had on the citizens of Saanich - a total payment of $476,611 (inclusive of accrued vacation of $55,448). This equates to 0.50% of taxation money that cannot be used for other initiatives of the municipality.