By Allison Werbowetsky
Swift Current
Next month Swift Current will be saying goodbye to arguably one of its most influential administrators. Matt Noble has served as chief administrative officer (CAO) for the past eight years, and will truly be missed as he leaves the city to embark on a new career in Merritt, British Columbia.

“We’ve been really fortunate — perhaps more fortunate than we’ll really understand until he’s gone. Merritt is going to get a very, very good guy, and he’s going to be able to help their council move their city forward in whatever fashion they want,” said Marty Salberg, director of business operations for the City of Swift Current, who has worked closely with Noble over the last several years.

“It will be a sad day when we do say goodbye, yet I feel fortunate to have had eight years with Matt,” he added.

Noble started out in Swift Current more than 10 years ago, as the City’s director of finance, and is now equipped with more than 25 years experience working in municipal governments.

He moved back to Swift Current in 2001 after leaving for a four-year contract position in the Turks and Caicos Islands to help set up an energy company.

“I’ve worked with Matt over the last seven years and my admiration and respect for him has grown tremendously over that period of time ... Our city’s experienced an unprecedented period of growth over the last eight years and he’s certainly been very instrumental in helping to manage that,” said Swift Current Mayor Jerrod Schafer.

Of the many projects Noble helped push into action as CAO, he cited balanced City budgets, a new hospital, a new water treatment plant, the Credit Union i-plex and the building of a casino as something he takes most pride in.

“Obviously, a casino was something very new to the citizens of Swift Current, and a lot of times there were negative connotations around a casino ... (but) we got a great performing arts centre, we’ve got a great casino, an attraction for tourism, we’ve been able to welcome more culture into the city — and it’s all ran quite seamless,” Salberg said.

“Maybe for Matt, it really was the start of change for Swift Current. We’ve encountered a lot of change over the years and that was one significant change that has worked out in a very positive fashion.”

However, Noble admittedly will miss the working relationships he has established, built up and maintained over the years the most.

“I’ve had a tremendous amount of support here. There’s a lot of success, but that success belongs to all the people that did the work. I’m going to miss the people, I definitely am,” Noble said.
Those City employees, as well as his friends outside work and at the Chinook Golf Course who know him well, will likely forever remember Noble’s vigor, determination and influential confidence during his time as CAO.

“You know, there is so much that has happened that perhaps wouldn’t have happened without him because he was really, quite frankly, the ultimate leader for all the departments. He allowed all the directors to push toward change and push toward doing new things knowing we all had him backing us. Once you have a leader like that you can move a long ways,” Salberg said. “That’s Matt Noble. In my estimation that’s the perfect CAO ... He takes the reigns, but he gives the reigns as well.”

Noble will officially step down from his position Aug. 16 and begin as CAO for the City of Merrit one week later. As for filling the big shoes of Swift Current’s new CAO, there are no obvious prospects yet.

“We’re going to be looking for somebody that has good leadership capabilities, somebody that has some experience and somebody that will continue to manage the city’s growth moving forward,” Schafer said.

The process will likely take several months, and city council will work closely and diligently with the City’s human resources department to determine whether a candidate will be best chosen internally or with the enlisted help of a headhunter. Until then, director of finance Tim Marcus will act as interim CAO.

“It’s not something that’s tidied up in a couple of weeks. He or she is somebody that’s going to hopefully be here for an extended period of time ... so we want to be sure in the process,” he said.