The Sun Country Health Region is going to have to dip into their global funding reserves to find an additional $187,000 this year since that represents the amount they have agreed to provide as a severance package for dismissed CEO Cal Tant.
Sun Country's board chairwoman Sharon Bauche said last week following the board's regular business session in Weyburn, that the directors have agreed to pay Tant that amount following negotiations that began shortly after he was relieved of his duties "without cause" in September 2010.
Stating that the board had lost confidence in his abilities to lead and adminster, Tant was given his walking papers and Bauche and the board stated that the process would have to involve a severance payment. She said she expected the payment might be made in a series of instalments as per the agreement.
The severance represents an amount that was slightly more than Tant's salary that was listed as 小蓝视频 $177,000 per year at the time of his dismissal.
Tant's leadership tactics came into question after it was revealed he had hired Hal Schmidt, the vice-president of finance who had a checkered history of dubious financial dealings while engaged in a health centre in British Columbia and had mis-represented his credentials to obtain an administrative position with another health district. Schmidt resigned his position at Sun Country when the background information became public and he was not eligible for any severance package. Subsequently a provincial auditor's report revealed a number of other weaknesses in the Sun Country's accountability history that they are now addressing under interim CEO Marga Cugnet.
Bauche did not say whether there was a contingency fund to draw on to finance Tant's severance, but Estevan's appointed board member Lori Carr said she figured the money would have to come from the global budget, perhaps calling on the savings realized when some administration positions went unfilled for a certain period of time during various transitions.
