Following the abrupt departure of the last candidate, the Municipality of Chatham-Kent has begun another search for a new chief administrative officer.
The municipality said on Tuesday that it has retained recruitment firm Waterhouse to facilitate the hiring process for a new CAO, which is expected to take around three months.
The search for a new CAO was prompted after the municipality announced last week that CAO candidate Thomas Kelly was no longer a Chatham-Kent employee.
The municipality declined to elaborate on the circumstances of his departure, however, CKXS News reported the week prior that Kelly had been the subject of a Ministry of Labour investigation after a harassment complaint was filed against him on November 22, 2021.
Kelly was named the new CAO for the municipality a week before the harassment complaint was filed, on November 15, 2021. However, current CAO Don Shropshire, who announced his retirement last year, has remained in his position.
Kelly served as Chatham-Kent’s general manager of infrastructure and engineering until his departure last week.
During the current CAO hiring process, Chris Thibert has been named as Kelly’s replacement as interim GM of Infrastructure Engineering Services. Thibert, who has most recently served as the director of engineering and transportation, has been employed by the municipality since 2016.
As well, Ryan Brown, the director of Public Works, will be taking increased responsibility pertaining to the Wheatley gas emission investigation during the hiring process.
The search for a new GM of Infrastructure Engineering Services will begin once Chatham-Kent is further along in its search for a new CAO, the municipality said.