Chief Administrative Officer Byron McCorkell (left) has been covering for David Trawin (right) for a year as his indefinite leave continues.

Image Credit: City of Kamloops

It was a year ago Kamloops taxpayers were told the City's top employee was on "personal leave." Since then, there have been no updates as to when David Trawin will return.

For the foreseeable future, two people will carry the same title as the chief administrative officer (CAO) at Kamloops city hall. Trawin himself offered no updated timeline to return to the job, while other city officials refused to comment at all.

February's deputy mayor, councillor Katie Neustaeter, wouldn't comment because it's a personnel matter. Current CAO Byron McCorkell and human resources head Colleen Quigley did not respond to requests for comment from iNFOnews.ca.

Trawin told iNFOnews.ca he is currently on long-term disability and confirmed he remains a City employee, but it's not clear whether the only person at city hall with a salary over $300,000 will return.

"Hard to say," he said in an emailed response, adding that it's up to his doctors who are weighing "lots of factors."

On March 7, 2024, the City announced the chief administrative officer of more than a decade, Trawin, had taken a "personal leave." Exactly when it began wasn't clear, nor the reason for his leave or how long it could continue.

"The duration of the leave is currently undetermined," a year-old news release stated.

In 2023, Trawin was paid a salary of $307,216, plus around $2,000 in benefits, far more than any other employee at city hall. He's now presumably being paid through his workplace benefits package while on long-term disability, but the details of the City's insurance packages for executive management aren't known. 

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McCorkell, the second-highest grossing staff member, was paid almost $70,000 less than Trawin that year. Just how much of a raise he was given for taking on the interim CAO job hasn't been made public yet.

More details about their earnings will become known in the coming months when the City publishes its annual financial report.

Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson said he knew nothing about Trawin's leave beyond the announcement last spring. Aside from a single email congratulating all of council on moving the Build Kamloops project forward in September, Hamer-Jackson has had no contact with Trawin, though not for lack of trying.

"Nothing from the City, but I subpoenaed him not long ago," Hamer-Jackson said.

It was related to his defamation case against Coun. Neustater, but the effort wasn't successful.

"The server's report came back and when they went to his house in Kamloops, one of his family members said he resides in Kelowna," Hamer-Jackson said.

Trawin said he still owns his Kamloops home, but splits time between Kelowna, Kamloops and Osoyoos for personal and health reasons.

It's possible city council has been updated on Trawin's situation through closed meetings. Although councillors are typically barred from speaking on matters discussed in closed meetings, Hamer-Jackson wouldn't know anyway as he has stopped attending them.

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Kamloops-area residents are no strangers to opaque messaging about the employment status their local government's top bureaucrat.

In the case of the Thompson Nicola Regional District, its former CAO Sukh Gill struck a deal to have his departure labelled as a "retirement," which was far from the truth.

It was part of Gill's $500,000 severance agreement and only became public when Kamloops This Week uncovered a spending scandal in 2021. The reason for his departure still isn't clear, but it wasn't spending.

There is no indication Trawin's leave is related to any wrongdoing, but whether it's related to work or tensions with the mayor since the 2022 election isn't clear.

Conflict between the two, similar to Hamer-Jackson's tension with many others at city hall, became known as the term carried on. Most notably, Hamer-Jackson was accused of bullying Trawin, specifically threatening to fire him, in a leaked workplace report.

Trawin wouldn't comment further on the details of his medical leave, including whether it's due to job and Hamer-Jackson-related stress.

There were some leadership changes at Kamloops city hall in the lead up to Trawin's departure, most notably the splitting of some of his role between two people.

In October 2023, Trawin's soon-to-be replacement was given a new title: deputy chief administrative officer.

It wasn't just new to McCorkell. The title didn't exist before, and it allowed him to pass off some of his own duties to others, including Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc who now also oversees bylaws and policing. 

Trawin was intermittently attending public council meetings in the weeks leading up to his current hiatus from city hall, with his final public meeting attendance on Feb. 15, according to City records.

McCorkell then filled in as the acting CAO, a title that carried on until October 2024.

Strangely, when McCorkell was hired as the new CAO, "acting" was removed from his title but it was still considered an "interim measure," according to an Oct. 11, 2024 news release.

Now in his early 60s, Trawin did once take a leave after a mid-council meeting medical episode in 2020, but he was back within the year.

Trawin has been in the top role since 2012, promoted after nine years as head of development and engineering. His urban planning background includes previous work with the City of Terrace and in the private sector.

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