Media Releases

Town of Amherst appoints interim CAO

Jason MacDonald has been appointed the interim chief administrative officer for the Town of Amherst.

His appointment, effective April 19, 2021, was approved by Amherst town council during a special session held on April 7, 2021, a day after CAO Greg Herrett resigned in order to become the CAO of the Municipality of Cumberland.

“Jason has been with the Town of Amherst for 22 years, rising to the position of deputy-CAO and director of operations,” Mayor David Kogon said.

“I have utmost confidence in Jason’s ability to fill this position.”

MacDonald was hired in 1999 to jointly serve the Town of Amherst and the Municipality of Cumberland as a land-use planner. He worked in that capacity until he became the town’s planning manager in 2001.

In 2003, MacDonald was appointed to the position of director of planning and development. In 2008, he assumed the role of director of planning and engineering services following the retirement of longtime town engineer Ron Patterson.

In 2014, MacDonald was appointed deputy-CAO-operations, adding the management of the town’s Public Works Department, and for a short while the Amherst Fire Department, to his duties.

With the resignation in 2019 of Bill Schurman, the town’s former recreation director, MacDonald added the management of recreational facilities to his duties. A final change in his duties occurred in 2020 when he took over the management of the town’s community well-being team following the resignation of Chief Financial Officer Shelley Rector.

MacDonald expressed his thanks to Mayor Kogon and the members of the Amherst town council for their trust in appointing him the interim CAO of the town.

“I am looking forward to continuing to work with the mayor, council and all town staff in a positive, team-oriented environment,” he said.

MacDonald expressed his sincere congratulations to outgoing CAO Greg Herrett.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Greg for the last two decades,” he said. “I wish to thank him for his mentorship and friendship during that time.”

Herrett joined the town as its treasurer-director of finance in 1997 and became the CAO in 2005. He takes over the duties of CAO for the Municipality of the County of Cumberland on April 19, 2021.

“Greg, along with previous councils, brought Amherst from a less than stellar financial position to a position where we are one of the top five municipalities in regards to financial sustainability,” Kogon said.

“I personally have benefitted from his role as adviser to mayor and council and feel the County of Cumberland is very fortunate to be acquiring his expertise.

“He will be missed here in Amherst, but there is a very distinct plus side to his move to the county in that the collaborative efforts between the two municipalities will blossom.”

A decision on filling the CAO position permanently will be made in the near future, the mayor said.