The City of Mount Pearl has hired a new Chief Administrative Officer.

Dana Spurrell has been appointed as the city’s new CAO, beginning on February 10.

Spurrell has 25 years of public service experience working in various executive positions within the provincial government, most recently, serving as the Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration, Workforce Development and Labour.

The position itself had been inactive for some time. Former CAO Steve Kent took a leave of absence in the fall of 2019, and officially resigned last June. The city clerk has been acting as CAO in the interim.

Mayor Dave Aker explains that council decided to conduct a market analysis of the position to determine what the pay and benefits should look like. The firm that undertook that process also assisted in recruitment and the vetting of applications.

Aker calls it a “slow and methodical” process, but he believes Spurrell is the best candidate for the job. He says Dana’s approach is “to empower” and work as a team to help provide better city services moving forward.