After receiving some recent flak from the public, Town of Cochrane Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Mike Derricott said he has stepped away from a second form of employment he held for his wife's consulting business.
The secondary position pertained to a business called Isokarhu Strategies. Services provided by the firm include strategic management, business system support, and executive coaching for municipal governments.
Although the website for the business is no longer available online, their services have been offered to the Village of Barnwell, Fort Macleod, and Align Developments Inc. When the site was still up, Derricott was listed as one of the business' employees.
Derricott explained Isokarhu Strategies arose after he relocated with his family to Cochrane in January 2021, at which point his wife was considering her own next professional endeavour. Derricott said she decided to explore consulting work, where she would do supporting HR functions for local businesses.
“So, the nature of the business was to support, really mostly my wife’s professional pursuits, and I was kind of a secondary participant in building the profile of our business,” Derricott said.
In Derricott’s employment contract with the Town of Cochrane, it outlines that as an employee, he must devote his full time and attention to the discharge of his duties as an employee for the Town.
“The Employee shall not continue or commence any employment for or with any person during the term of this Employment Agreement,” the contract states. “The Employee acknowledges this to be a reasonable restriction on the part of the Town.”
The contract also outlined that, not withstanding the preceding section, provided that an employee of the Town receives prior approval from council, (which would be at council’s sole discretion), a Town employee may accept part-time engagements, albeit with limitations.
“The Employee may accept part-time engagements to teach courses, assist in professional associations of which the Employee is a member, and assist in the presentation of panels, seminars, and speeches, and the Employee may keep all fees and honoraria received for such work,” it reads.
Over the last two years Isokarhu Strategies has been in operation, Derricott estimated he spent about 100 cumulative hours helping the business and claimed these efforts did not detract or distract from his work for the Town.
“That has always been my primary focus,” Derricott said. “I remain honoured and privileged to serve the community and that is my number-one focus professionally.”
He claimed the work he did for Isokarhu Strategies was very limited, his wife was taking on the lion’s share of the responsibilities, and he only acted in a supporting role. These responsibilities took place in the evenings, on weekends, and in times and spaces that did not conflict with his responsibilities for Cochrane.
“So, this was reviewed with council initially and no concerns were brought forward,” Derricott said. “And I believe I met the obligations in my contract, from my perspective, to ensure council was aware of the nature of the business.
“This was, in my opinion [and] generally speaking, not an issue because of the nature of the business, which was to have minimal input from myself.”
At the moment, Isokarhu Strategies in not active, though Derricott said he wants to make it clear his wife may continue to work with some of the clientele she has developed.
“But as for my involvement, we are not trying to generate any business that would require my input or involvement at this time,” he said.
Overall, Derricott said it is important for people to take the time to gather accurate information and not only draw conclusions from what is found on social media. He added that, generally speaking, it feels a little more uncomfortable in this circumstance due to the public nature of his job at the Ranchehouse.
“When it’s having a direct impact on my family, in this case my wife’s business pursuits, it’s a little bit unfortunate and I think perhaps a little bit thoughtless from those who are pursuing that inquiry there, but I understand why that’s a question,” Derricott said. “My efforts have been fully and completely focused as necessary, and as contractually obligated to the Town of Cochrane.”
No Smoking Gun
When asked to comment on Derricott’s second job, Mayor Genung said the CAO had previously come forward to council with the idea of a consulting business that he was planning to start.
“He first came to me, and asked if I saw it as a breach of his contract or contrary to his contract,” Genung said. “I evaluated it and thought, ‘No but let’s put it forward to council.’”
Genung said Derricott met with council and shared the intentions of his side business. Genung added the nature of the second job would have to be on Derricott’s own time and not interfere with his work as the CAO of Cochrane’s municipal government.
“No one had anything negative to say about it, so he had council’s blessing, to go off and do that,” Genung said. “So, it’s not a breach of a contract and it’s not without council’s permission either.”
Genung stated he had no reservations when it came to Derricott’s second form of employment.
“Mike’s here, he works long hours, and he has Cochrane’s best interests at heart,” he said. “He’s working very hard at building an organization that can live up to the expectations and the service deliveries that Cochrane residents and council expect from him, and he’s doing an excellent job of it.”
The mayor also added that council has a process where the CAO is evaluated annually, which Derricott has undergone twice. Genung said this assessment allows council to address any issues or concerns that come forward throughout the year.
“We’re following it and our CAO has always passed with a positive grade,” he said.
With four CAOs having occupied the position (the highest administrative staff position for a municipal government) at the RancheHouse within the last few years, Genung said it is time for the Town to settle and find an individual who can bring some longevity to Cochrane’s administration.
“Mike is also not perfect, but he is the person that we need right now to do the job in building an organization that . . . can handle change,” Genung said. “We’re here trying to do good work under an open, transparent system, [where] people can come and ask questions anytime they want.
“There’s no hidden agendas, we’re just here trying to do the best we can for the people of Cochrane,”
Moving Forward
Coun. Morgan Nagel outlined the CAO’s support role in Isokarhu Strategies was not formally approved by council, but that council was made aware of it last fall.
“At that time, it was discussed and we were assured that our CAO was only providing extremely minor support for his wife and that it was in no way interfering with his Town of Cochrane duties,” he said.
However, Nagel added he believes it is appropriate for the CAO to only be focusing on the Town of Cochrane as his sole professional endeavour.
“This is something I personally expressed to him in the past, and it is something I have re-iterated again in recent conversations,” Nagel said.
“Our council and CAO have agreed that Mike’s involvement with his wife’s business, no matter how minor, should no longer be something he is doing.”
Speaking only on her own as a member of council, Coun. Marni Fedeyko also shared her understanding of the situation.
“I understand that Mr. Derricott has chosen to step away from his personal business endeavour that involves strategic planning, coaching, and advice to municipalities and other businesses, which I personally believe is the right thing to do,” Fedeyko said.
“However, what I am left being challenged by is why did he create this business to being with – knowing full well it perceptively could be deemed or appear to be a conflict of interest and a breach of his contract.”
