As announced this past summer, City Council has decided that the current governance and operations of CUI are no longer desirable, that the status quo is not an acceptable option and changes to the company are required.

“Finding a solution that puts the City and the company in a better position to serve residents in fiscally responsible ways is of the utmost importance to this Council,” says Mayor Marshall Chalmers.

Earlier today, the CUI Board of Directors announced that they have terminated the employment of CUI CEO Leigh-Anne Palter. The Board will also be announcing an interim CEO, who will serve as a short term contracted transition manager.

At their regular meeting on November 6, City Council narrowed down the options for the future of the company with a focus of bringing the operations of CUI back into the City’s management.

Originally presented with five possibilities by KPMG and McMillan LLP, Council has asked Administration to conduct detailed analysis into the cost and implications of bringing the company back into the municipality as a department (municipalization option) or retaining CUI solely for the purposes of holding existing debt separately from the municipality until the debt is retired (shell company option). Council also directed Administration to explore the continued outsourcing of services and the possibility of partnership with an existing utility.

“Reaching a decision for the future of CUI is top of mind for Council and we anticipate choosing a path forward before the end of the year,” says Chalmers. “While we will dig into every detail of the choices before us, we are working with the greatest urgency to find a better solution for our community.”

Visit www.chestermere.ca/cui for more information.