He's only been on the job for five days, but Vancouver's new mayor is already shaking things up at city hall.
Gregor Robertson announced Friday morning he and his council will replace longtime city manager Judy Rogers, who has held the post since 1999.
Her replacement is Dr. Penny Ballem, a former deputy minister of health for the B.C. government from 2001 to 2006.
The agreement was finalized at an in-camera meeting this morning.
Ballem, a trained hematologist, is currently the corporate director for Bentall Capital G.P. Ltd, as well as advisor to RPO Management Consultants.
In her post as deputy health officer, Ballem served as a lead official for several national health initiatives led by Premier Gordon Campbell, including the Aboriginal Health and National Pharmaceutical Strategy.
Judy Rogers will reportedly remain on the job for the remainder of the month to help ease Ballem's transition.
Rogers was the highest paid employee at city hall, making $292,000 in 2007. She has accepted a severance package said to be in line with her 20 years of employment with the city.
Big changes already
The hiring of Ballem is the second major change at city hall since Robertson's arrival this week. Estelle Lo, Vancouver's chief financial officer, resigned after the Nov. 15 election. Her whereabouts during the disappearance of the 2010 Olympic village loan documents became a hot topic during the November election campaign.
