As of today, Kevin Breen is swapping “Acting” for “Permanent” in front of his job title: Manager of the City of St. John’s. He’s been the acting manager for 6 months, since our previous city manager Neil Martin stepped down for health reasons.

Breen was first hired by the City in 1993, and in his 23 years, he has held a variety of titles including Director of Human Resources, Director of Streets and Parks, and became Deputy City Manager, Corporate Services in 2014.

A Selection Committee with the support of an external recruiting firm made the recommendation to Council today, which was accepted unanimously. “We were very impressed with the quality of candidates who put their names forward for this position,” said Mayor Dennis O’Keefe.

“After a thorough search and review, we are confident that Mr. Breen is the right person to lead our City’s organization over the coming years.”

The City Manager oversees all administrative duties for the City of St. John’s to operate; all city departments report to the city manager through their department director. A city manager is hired by councillors essentially to supervise city departments, monitor the city budget, make sure finances are in order, implement city policies, and represent the municipality in a variety of ways, including playing an advisory role to the council and mayor.