Recognizing the importance of an employment contract for municipal administrators, the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) developed a CAO Employment Contract Toolkit which is available to members.

This toolkit is meant to be a resource to support our members whether they are existing CAOs (or senior administrators) with past experience in the role or potential future CAOs with no experience as a CAO when negotiating their contract with elected officials. The toolkit provides guidance and support to our members along with recommendations and best practices that are a win-win for both parties.

The Toolkit offers information on how to assess the political environment and culture of the community, how to negotiate an employment contract, important provisions to include, the different legislation requirements between Provinces and Territories, pension/portability and benefits, the importance of having a performance evaluation, legal advice – just to name a few. It also provides some sample contracts, a sample CAO Bylaw with a job description and sample contract clauses for each topic.

If you would like to become a CAMA member and have access to this great resource please click here.